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 Montressor Road to the Maryland state line. One of the proposed improvements  is the construction of a western bypass around the Village of Lucketts.

In March 2020, Loudoun Wildlife purchased the 87-acre globally rare wetland now known as JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary. The potential western bypass option would likely go through our property and negatively impact the sensitive environmental resources of our property.

While the bypass alignment has been voted on in conjunction with the Comprehensive Plan Amendment itself, the final location and alignment of the bypass will be further evaluated and determined during the roadway design process.

Despite the Board of Supervisors CPAM decision, your voice will still be needed in the future to speak up to protect the unique flora and fauna that are at a high risk of local extinction at JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary. Loudoun Wildlife will continue to monitor the progress on the Rt. 15 N widening project, and we will post updates as other opportunities for public input become available.

Currently, the Board of Supervisors is reviewing potential short term improvement possibilities for the most dangerous stretches of the road. The Finance Committee presented improvements including speed enforcements, shoulder paving, and rumble strips at a November 10th meeting, with further discussion to take place at a later meeting.  This LoudounNow article details the short-term improvement options.

We want to thank the members of the public who spoke up and overwhelmingly responded to protect JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary during a survey in June 2021.

Additional information on the Rt. 15 widening:

• Loudoun Wildlife’s comments to the Board of Supervisors.
• Loudoun Wildlife’s comments on the potential bypass options.
• Loudoun County Staff Report for Planning Commission Public Hearing on November 30.
• Loudoun County CPAM project website.
• Loudoun County’s statement regarding the bypass alignment.
• Full results of the JK Black Oak survey.
• November 10 meeting documents for the Route 15 short term improvements can be found in the 10-11-22 folder  of the committee.