By admin

By Kevin Howe and Jerry Mendenhall
Special to the Barcroft News Staff

The purpose of this article is to outline briefly the history of the Beach 3 walkway, and to describe the process that resulted in the existing walkway and the measures we are taking to correct it.

Part One
Over the past several years, various residents had complained about the path from the Beach 3 parking lot to the beach. After a rain, the Beach 3 walkway became very muddy. So about three years ago, a plan was formulated to determine what could be done to alleviate the mud problem. Several volunteers with expertise in various disciplines looked at the site, determined what could be done and what the goals should be.

While the primary goal was to eliminate the mud problem, two other major goals were to: 1) protect the tree roots and thereby trees; and, 2) create a path/road whereby sand trucks and emergency vehicles could have access to the beach itself when necessary. And, as with many LBA improvements, we wanted to make the path sustainable and as maintenance- free as possible.

Looking to a new path we considered the following:

• The path should remain in the same location.
• It must be built to support emergency vehicles and sand trucks because this is the only vehicular access to the beach (at the time of planning).
• It must be permeable as the path is within Fairfax County’s Resource Protection Area, and the County, as well as the LBA are attempting to limit impermeable surfaces around the Lake.
• The path crosses a swale and sits in a low spot that creates a ponding effect right in the path so a new path construction must not create a dam that would cause more flooding of the path.
• The area could not be trenched to let water drain away as this could damage surrounding tree roots. Further, the only area to drain the water was into the kayak/canoe rack areas. Absorption of rain water into the earth was paramount.
• Access for wheelchairs was considered, but Beach 1 was considered the community’s handicap accessible beach, and the Beach 3 path ended on sand which is not handicap- friendly.

So the new path had to be permeable, supportive of large vehicles and raised so as not to let water accumulate.

Part Two
Over the course of a year, a number of proposals were reviewed. Finally, a material was chosen that had all the characteristics mentioned above. The base for the path was to be a specially engineered plastic webbed material (called GeoWeb) that was permeable, supportive of vehicles and would be raised above ground level. The GeoWeb material would then be covered with stones.

When the plan was finally agreed upon, contractor pricing was sought. A contractor with a license and insurance, who had worked for the LBA previously, was chosen based on low price and ability to do the work. The work was completed just before July 4th of this year.

Part Three
Soon after being installed, a number of residents felt the path was unsuitable, primarily because the round river rock was unfriendly to bare feet and wheels on strollers and wheelchairs.

The Committee agreed that the path should be altered, and beginning in August several alternatives were identified. Subsequently, these alternatives were presented to the Board which asked the committee to broaden its review. The Committee came up with a number of solutions and the use of concrete and asphalt was revisited. Many options were suggested. The options were placed into ten categories. These categories incorporated all the suggestions we received. They ranged from doing nothing to removing the existing walkway and replacing it with various materials.

The Committee has reached a solution that will work well, and be relatively inexpensive and easy to construct.

The new path will have the same GeoWeb foundation, but several inches of stone will be removed, sand will be added to the base, and then crushed blue stone will be packed on top to provide a stable top surface. The crushed stone will harden into a semi-hard surface, will still be somewhat permeable, can be walked on easily with bare feet and will allow strollers and wheelchairs to travel down the path with some ease. Emergency vehicles will also be able to use the rebuilt walkway. It is also ADA compliant for outdoor paths. The raised GeoWeb framework and timber sides will keep maintenance costs low and prevent the stone from being washed out or rutted.

This review took longer than initially anticipated. First, because we had to figure out how to handle the very heavy sand trucks which annually replenish the beaches. In early-September, with the cooperation of the WID and the trucking company from whom we purchase sand for the beaches, we found an alternative path for the sand trucks through the newly extended WID area next to the beach. This allowed us to focus on other factors: assuring permeability, raising the surface as not to let water accumulate, and providing a firm user friendly surface for pedestrians, strollers and wheelchairs.

The WID has offered to undertake rebuilding of the path for only the cost of the materials. The work will be scheduled during WID’s “slow season” and will be completed by spring.

If anyone would like to comment on this, please forward your comments to Jerry Mendenhall or Kevin Howe.