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 that causes significant harm to the globally rare habitat at JK Black Oak.
At the Board of Supervisors business meeting on July 5, 2022, 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, where the Board of Supervisors gave direction to study only areas to the west of existing Route 15.
You can see the routes originally released to the public from the county’s contractor in June 2025 here. In October, the county narrowed down to routes 1 and a variation on route 2, 1a. View the maps presented: Alignment 1 North, Alignment 1a North and Alignment 1 and 1a South.
This project realities fact sheet highlights issues with the original full bypass project, focusing on glaring issues such as the scale, budget and timeline. For information on how any of the original four alignments would impact Black Oak, see here.
Now, in summer 2026, we’ve learned the project is taking a different direction. A community member’s FOIA revealed that the county has submitted competing applications for state SmartScale funding; one for the full bypass and another for a smaller-scale project dubbed the “mini-bypass”.
Months after the FOIA, following the submission of the full grant applications to the state, county uploaded visuals of the two SmartScale applications submitted alongside high-level information about the two route options, “Alignment A” (left) and “Mini-Bypass B” (right):
Alignment A
B, Mini-Bypass
Any type of bypass placed to the west of the existing Route 15 will have an impact on JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary. We were pleased to see that the proposed mini-bypass is of much smaller scale, consisting of only two lanes and a drastically decreased footprint. The county has indicated this alignment is being refined further east, closer to Route 15, a positive sign, though not yet a confirmed outcome. However, LWC does not support either of the two route alternatives as currently mapped.
This being said, we understand how crucial improvements to Route 15 are to Lucketts residents in desperate need of relief. We still believe that the best option for correcting the issues on Route 15 would be to the east of the existing roadway on county land, with proper screening and buffers to alleviate safety concerns. If the project is to proceed on the west of the current road, it should remain as far east as possible, skirting our property border to minimize land disturbance. Any land to the east of where the right-of-way might be placed would be rendered desolate habitat; the “boxing in” would leave the ecosystem unproductive and uninhabitable for most wildlife. No matter how the project proceeds, we are committed to protecting the vital and rare wetland habitat we protect at JK Black Oak.
The county has posted an updated timeline on the Luckets Bypass webpage, indicating that there will be a public meeting on the concept of the new mini-bypass on September 29th, 6:30-8 p.m., at the Lucketts Community Center. This will proceed localities receiving the results of the Smart Scale scoring in December and the state’s public comment period that coincides with an expected alignment decision by the Board of Supervisors in the beginning of 2027.
We want to thank the members of the public who attended public meetings, filled out the county’s first public input survey, commented to the Board, and stayed engaged on this issue to help us protect JK Black Oak. Please stay tuned in as more public engagement opportunities come up to decide the future of Route 15 and the habitat we hold so dear at JK Black Oak.
Leading up to this, we need you to email your Supervisor to tell them to protect JK Black Oak. You can also email the Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure (dtci@louduon.gov) with your concerns. Please contact LWC Conservation Advocacy Coordinator Trinity Mills at tmills@loudounwildlife.org with any questions. We need your voice!
Additional information on the Route 15 widening:
- County Project Page on all Route 15 North Projects
- Lucketts Bypass Page
- Route Alternatives Document outlining reasonings for opposition to original routes
- County Comment FormMap 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.
- Staff report/ CPAM Item Packett
- 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
2 Comments
Leave your reply.