Conner Drive Extension Project Waiting for Financial Approval

In April Manassas Park City Council voted on , but since then, the project has barely moved forward.

According to city inspector and project manager, Calvin O'Dell, the next step is to have the road designed by engineers, however this won't happen until the city's finance department approves the budget for the project.

The project is estimated to cost about $400,000 and the city will be responsible for half.

O'Dell said that the project will be covered under a revenue-sharing agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation. The city will have to cover the costs upfront, but will eventually be reimbursed 50 percent. O'Dell said once funds are made available, he would like to move forward with the project as soon as possible.

“If we had money to start every project right now, we would,” he said.

Once the funds are approved by finance, the city will be able to start sending out Requests For Proposals (RFPs), a process that O'Dell believes will take six to seven months.

He said once a proposal is approved and a bid is accepted, it could take anywhere from a year to a year-and-a-half to complete. He explained that the weather and other natural circumstances could affect the project.

For example, even if the project were in the RFP stage now, it's impossible to begin construction in the winter because the ground and temperatures would not be ideal, he said.

O'Dell said that hopefully the finance department will be able to approve the budget so that the RFP process can begin early next year and construction could start by next summer.

When the project is completed, vehicles will only be permitted to make right turns on and off Conner Drive at Route 28.