LOUDOUN COUNTY’S COMMUNITY-OWNED NEWS SOURCE
LoudounNow
[ Vol. 4, No. 38 ]
[ loudounnow.com ]
[ August 8, 2019 ]
■ PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES - PAGE 30 ■ EMPLOYMENT PAGE 32 ■ RESOURCE DIRECTORY PAGE 33
Hillsboro Rejects Road Project Bids, Will Re-Advertise BY PATRICK SZABO
Patrick Szabo/Loudoun Now
Loudoun United FC midfielders Collin Verfurth, Noah Pilato and Connor Presley sign autographs for fans during Saturday’s Segra Field ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Loudoun United Readies for Home Opener BY PATRICK SZABO AND NORMAN K. STYER Twelve months after county supervisors announced a deal that would bring a second major league sports team to Loudoun and the county’s first professional sports stadium, Loudoun United FC is slated to take to its home pitch for the first time on Friday night. Over the weekend, county and team leaders gathered at Philip A. Bolen Memorial Park south of Leesburg to celebrate the completion of the 5,000-seat stadium, the first element of a $15 mil-
lion complex that also will include the headquarters and training center for Major League Soccer franchise D.C. United, just miles from the home of the NFL’s Washington Redskins. It’s a project predicted by supporters to have a transformative impact, making Loudoun a national soccer destination. D.C. United CEO and managing general owner Jason Levien said during last Saturday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony that people two decades ago were talking about the potential for Loudoun to become wine country and that 20 to 30
years from now the county would be just as widely known for its soccer offerings. County Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) said the team and stadium would cultivate world-class soccer players for years to come. “This right here puts the cherry on top of the Sundae,” she said. “This is a whole new level of soccer,” said Supervisor Geary Higgins (R-Catoctin), whose district includes the new complex. HOME OPENER>> 6
After the long-planned Rt. 9 traffic calming project hit a price tag roadblock last week, the Town of Hillsboro has decided to reassess its plans. Last week, the town received three bids from construction firms interested in handling the work— work that will see the construction of two roundabouts, new sidewalks and buried powerlines. But those bids came in about $5 million to $10 million higher than project engineers’ cost estimates. General Excavation bid $19.95 million, A&M Concrete Corp. bid $20.82 million and Shirley Contracting bid $24.99 million. In response, the town rejected all three bids and is now working with the county government and VDOT to find ways to lower costs and re-advertise the project on Aug. 29. According to Mayor Roger Vance, there are a few contributing factors to the higher-than-expected bids. One of those is Northern Virginia’s “hot construction market.” “Everybody across-the-board is feeling it,” he said. “It’s not insignificant.” Another factor is that the work plan included a requirement to keep at least one of Rt. 9’s lanes still open to through traffic during the work—a condition that would slow work and increase costs for construction crews. “What we’re hearing loud and clear is maintenance of traffic is the big driver,” Vance said. Vance said that while the town had contingencies built into its plans, they weren’t enough to compensate for the high bids. Hillsboro is only one victim of HILLSBORO BIDS >> 7
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