A study is underway to determine the feasibility of installing a bike and pedestrian trail from Manassas into Fairfax County with a so-called “Rail With Trail” project. The city of Manassas has partnered with Manassas Park and Prince William County to commission a feasibility study that will determine the cost of setting a three-mile section of trail adjacent to the Virginia Railway Express’ Manassas line starting in the city’s downtown. Manassas contributed $88,600 to the project while both Manassas Park and Prince William County contributed $90,000, which was used to acquire the services of Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc. to perform the study. The proposed trail section would run adjacent to the Virginia Railway Express Manassas Line between downtown Manassas and the Bull Run Trail in Fairfax County. The project is considered Phase 1 of the “VRE Manassas Line Trail: Landmark to City of Manassas” in the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority’s Long-Range Transportation Plan known as TransAction . Investment in the study is a pivot by the localities after being denied funding by the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program, a grant program created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by then-President Joseph Biden in November 2021. Run by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the program seeks to grant funding to projects that will provide safe and connected active transportation facilities in active transportation networks or transportation spines. The trio of localities applied for the grant in June 2024 but were informed that the project was denied funding in January. According to Chloe Delhomme, senior planner for the city of Manassas, the project was submitted to the program among 352 applications nationwide, and only 15 were selected among a competitive field. “If the [Kimley-Horn] study determines that the project is feasible, a cost estimate will be developed for full design and construction, and funding will be sought,” said Delhomme. The second phase of the trail project would be between Bull Run Trail in Fairfax County and Landmark in the city of Alexandria, which if completed would encompass more than 20 miles and connect five jurisdictions in Northern Virginia. As part of the study, Kimley-Horn will also create concepts for up to three alternative alignments of the trail and determine cost estimates for the project. According to the proposal to Prince William County from Kimley-Horn, the study is estimated to take five months to complete.
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