With the county’s stated goal of improving safety and decreasing congestion, a number of road improvement projects are in process along the corridor of Route 15 North. One of these improvements, the Lucketts bypass, is expected to directly impact JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary. Loudoun Wildlife is staying closely involved with this process to do everything possible to prevent the construction of a roadway from impacting the globally rare habitat at JK Black Oak. Read on to learn about why the currently proposed alignment options don’t work, and what you can do to help.
At the Board of Supervisors July 5, 2022 business meeting, the Supervisors approved a Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPAM) to widen Route 15 from north of Montresor Road to the Maryland state line. One of the phases of these improvements is the construction of a bypass around the Village of Lucketts. In response to initial advocacy efforts, county staff prioritized a recommendation to the Board to avoid impacts to JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary. However, at the business meeting, an unexpected motion was made which resulted in a directive from the Board that the design study to determine the routes for the bypass only consider options to the west of the village of Lucketts where the Sanctuary is located.
Four original route alternatives. Click on map to enlarge.
In March 2020, Loudoun Wildlife purchased the 89-acre globally rare wetland now known as JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary, which is held under conservation easement. The four originally presented potential paths that the bypass could take were announced at the June 4 public input meeting. Although we are grateful that the route that would have bisected the sanctuary was eliminated, the remaining options still have significant environmental issues and would negatively impact JK Black Oak. The county Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure and contractor presented their preferred alignments at the public meeting on October 8. (View the maps presented: Alignment 1 North, Alignment 1a North and Alignment 1 and 1a South.) We are, in response to community concerns as well as our own, asking the county to reconsider the study because we do not believe that the chosen route 1 or newly added variation 1a are feasible. In addition to our concern on behalf of JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary, we do not believe that the proposed alternatives will meet the county’s goals for the project even after additional design elements are incorporated. Most importantly, neither does a majority of the community. The results of the county’s public input survey showed that over 60 percent of respondents said that none of the proposed alignments work.
So why don’t the original route alternatives work? We realize that the design phase of this project will yield more in-depth studies, but we have serious concerns about the inability to avoid some of the biggest problems with placing a roadway corridor in this area. The Route Alternatives document gives the issues for each of the four original alternatives (now narrowed down to variations on the blue and orange routes), but the problems can be summed up as follows.
Alternatives 1 and 2 would both follow part of New Valley Church Road and skirt the western border of the sanctuary. Route 1 has remained the same for the entirety of the path. The newly introduced variation 1a diverges to follow the original orange route north of Stumptown Road. Each of these alternatives to be presented to the Board of Supervisors would have devastating impacts on Black Oak, turning the preserve into a biological island surrounded by high-volume, high-speed traffic on all sides. Alternative 1 also impacts another nearby conservation property, and Alternative 2/1a would worsen the isolation caused by the road due to closer proximity. (While they have now been taken out of consideration, alternatives 4 and 5 presented serious cultural and environmental justice concerns as both cut through the Hiway Mobile Home Community and harm the historic character of the village of Lucketts.)
Local residents express their opinion.
We want to thank the members of the public who attended the June 4 and October 8 public meetings and took the time to fill out the county’s first public input survey. Your responses were critical in showing the county that this project does not have community support. We still need your help to continue the fight to protect JK Black Oak. Issues associated with both the original Routes 1 and 2 (blue and orange) still apply for the proposed routes 1 and 1A. You can also email the Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure (dtci@louduon.gov) and the Lucketts Bypass project manager (tyler.cockrell@loudoun.gov) with your concerns. For talking points, see the Route Alternatives document that is color coded to the routes. Please contact tmills@loudounwildlife.org with any questions. We need your voice!
Since the Board will still be required to vote to approve a route alternative once they have been determined, also email your Supervisor to tell them to reconsider the study area to avoid impacts to JK Black Oak when the item comes before them (expected Winter 2026). Keeping pressure on the Board is important, so it’s not too early to let them know that we’re still here fighting for the wildlife that call JK Black Oak their home.
Additional information on the Route 15 widening:
- County Project Page on all Route 15 North Projects
- Lucketts Bypass Page
- Alignment maps presented October 8: Alignment 1 North, Alignment 1a North and Alignment 1 and 1a South.
- Map showing sinkhole locations and bypass routes
- Lucketts Bypass Design Study RFQ (loose project plan and anticipated scope)
- Loudoun Wildlife’s comments to the Board of Supervisors July 2022.
- Loudoun Wildlife’s comments on the potential bypass options June 2021.
- Loudoun County Staff Report for Planning Commission Public Hearing on November 30 2021.
- Loudoun County CPAM project website.
- Full results of the first county survey on alignment direction preferences.
- Advocacy 101 event recording on public involvement with road projects, including a case study on the Route 15 bypass
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