The Virginia Department of Transportation is the primary funder of construction and maintenance for state highways, roads, trails, and sidewalks. VDOT has played a pivotal role in the creation, funding and construction of the Fall Line trail. They completed a corridor study in February, 2020 that vetted the feasibility of the trail and determined the best alignment to meet regional transportation and environmental needs. VDOT has provided funding for the construction of the trail through a number of transportation funding mechanisms. VDOT is also managing the construction of the northern and southern most sections of the Fall Line.
Over multiple years of planning and preliminary engineering, VDOT has shown a commitment to building the Fall Line trail and working with communities along the corridor to refine the alignment due to acute constraints (e.g., cultural artifacts). VDOT’s standard for the Fall Line is a 10-foot wide off-road asphalt path. The investment in a regional trail by a state department of transportation is momentous. Regional leaders and advocates understand that by investing in the Fall Line trail alongside VDOT, the magnitude of the trail’s potential impact on the region grows astronomically.
The way communities, private developers, and non-governmental agencies add their own investment on top of the funds VDOT has committed will likely look different along the corridor. The following section sets the shared vision for a baseline experience of the Fall Line trail that goes above and beyond the VDOT plan to create a world-class regional trail.