Since July 2021, construction activity has been taking place along the northbound side of Richmond Highway between the Fairfax County Parkway and the Pohick Road entrance to Fort Belvoir’s Tulley Gate. That project — a replacement of the main water line serving the Army garrison — is largely complete as of earlier this month, according to Wes Casa, general manager of the American Water Military Services Group.
Conducted under a Virginia Department of Transportation permit, the project involved replacing a 3,100-foot-long section of 24-inch potable water pipeline that had reached the end of its useful life, said Casa. To accomplish that task, construction teams had to remove and replace the sidewalk, asphalt and guardrails along Richmond Highway near the Eleanor U. Kennedy Shelter operated by New Hope Housing.
Now that the project is essentially done, the construction crew will clean up the site, remove barriers and plant new grass. Casa expects all permits to be closed out by Apr. 20, depending on “weather that supports good grass growth.”
Fort Belvoir’s drinking water supply comes from Fairfax County Water Authority. According to American Water Military Services’ 2021 Annual Water Quality Report, the garrison’s drinking water complied with all state and federal drinking water requirements that year.
