The Master Plan for the 5-mile long Ballenger Creek Trail was prepared by Human & Rohde, Inc. in 2000 for the Maryland Greenways Commission & Frederick County Trails, Inc. Frederick County Division of Parks & Recreation saw this as the important first leg in their county-wide trail system to link residential communities to schools, parks, and places of business and entertainment while serving as a recreational facility in and of itself.
Human & Rohde, Inc. was then hired under the Frederick County IDQ contract to develop construction documents for Phases III and IV of the trail. Phase III, the Kingsbrook Section, is 0.8 mile running behind the Kingsbrook Development from a trail head located at the end of Advisor’s Court to the Ballenger Creek Elementary School on its westerly end. It serves as a link between the community, the school, and the Kingsbrook Crossing Shopping Center on Corporate Drive, while providing a recreational opportunity that had not previously existed. Phase IV, the Advisor’s Court Section, is another 0.3 mile and connects the trailhead of Phase III with a developer-built section of trail on the south side of Ballenger Creek which required a 90-foot long pedestrian bridge. Human & Rohde assisted the County in refining the Master Plan routing for Phase III and prepared preliminary plans for review by the Owner and by the Kingsbrook Homeowner’s Association. Alternative alignments were explored in response to community input, including pedestrian bridges to avoid passing through Kingsbrook property. The revised route ultimately took advantage of a County stream restoration project that eliminated expensive stream crossings. The geotechnical report revealed soil conditions that necessitated the consideration of alternative pavement sections for the trail, which were discussed with the Project Manager and the Department of Construction and Inspection to arrive at an acceptable solution.
For Section IV, Human & Rohde adjusted the trail alignment prepared by the previous owner of the property in order to minimize impacts to the floodplain and to provide compliance with ADA and SHA requirements. Approval from MDE was obtained for work within the floodplain and for the bridge. Human & Rohde also prepared the SHA Transportation Enhancement Program (TEP) application for trail funding for both phases and coordinated the work with SHA. We provided wetland delineation services and obtained a Joint Permit from MDE for both sections.
Construction of the Kingsbrook Section was completed in the Summer of 2012, followed by the Advisor’s Court Section in 2018. Human & Rohde then provided construction documents for a final county-owned leg terminating at Ballenger Creek Park. Frederick County has since connected all developer-built trails and county sections providing the community with a continuous trail of approximately 4 miles.
Cost of Phase III: $710,000
Cost of Phase IV: $570,000
