M Focus on: Streets, Highways & Bridges
Build it once, build it right: Hillsboro’s ReThink9 project completed on time and on budget By JULIE YOUNG | The Municipal
Hillsboro, Va., may have fewer than 200 residents, but it is a community that knows how to get things done. After identifying a number of infrastructure concerns in the early 2000s, the town created a comprehensive plan to address — and subsequently pay for — the needed updates. The result was ReThink9, a $34 million, multifaceted road and infrastructure project on the town’s historic main street, the Charles Town Pike (Route 9). A huge undertaking ReThink9 consisted of two roundabouts, raised crosswalks, sidewalks, a new municipal drinking water system, wastewater treatment facility, stormwater collection system, underground utility lines and state-of-the-art, dark-sky-compliant streetlamps. The project was designed to relieve congestion and improve traffic flow while enhancing safety for motorists and pedestrians alike. The town of Hillsboro applied for dozens of grants over a 15-year period, appealing to every potential agency at the local, state and federal level. According to Mayor Roger Vance, Virginia Department of Health grants were applied to the drinking water project, as were grants from Loudoun County.
ABOVE LEFT: A new roundabout is only a part of the improvements that were installed during the Hillsboro ReThink9 project. (Photo provided by the city of Hillsboro) ABOVE RIGHT: The new walkway keeps pedestrians safe along the streets of Hillsboro, Va. (Photo provided by the city of Hillsboro) BELOW LEFT: A crumbling path puts pedestrians at risk prior to the Hillsboro ReThink9 project. (Photo provided by the city of Hillsboro) 22 THE MUNICIPAL | FEBRUARY 2022
