With Loudoun County growing at a record pace and athletic fields in short supply, there is no room for ball fields eroding down a hillside. That was the case at Edgar Tillett Memorial Park in Ashburn, VA. The park was proffered by the developer of the Broadlands subdivision, but the fields were built on 25 vertical feet of unstable fill dirt. Two of the ball fields were eroding down a steep embankment, while baseball teams were scrambling to find regular practice space.

The Loudoun County Department of Parks and Recreation contracted TMG to stabilize the sloped embankment at the southern side of existing ball fields. The project team, led by Project Manager Wes Ballinger and Superintendent John Lipscomb , encountered numerous challenges, including tight space constraints and a proliferation of unanticipated subsurface rock - very unwelcome conditions when installing sewer and water lines.

After discovering that the initial chimney drain designed by the county’s engineering firm was not constructable , TMG partnered with the County and Triad Engineering to design an alternative approach that reconfigured the drainage system to run perpendicular to the embankments contours.. TMG also installed a utility conduit, a water main and a sanitary lateral to accommodate future concession facilities. Despite having to blast and remove dense subsurface rock on steep slopes and along tight tree lines, TMG completed the project within the two-month timeframe and fully restored the site while not disturbing other existing ball fields. This was quite a feat, considering that the soil was hard and difficult after a period of drought. TMG’s biggest contribution, however, "was our ability to facilitate the timely building of a consensus between the competing interests of the ideal design, constructability and cost," noted Joe Matthews, TMG Principal and Vice President of Operations.

As the weather later proved, delivering the project in a timely fashion didn’t mean compromising on quality. "As we were finishing the project, we were hit with torrential rain," recalled Wes Ballinger. "There was flash flooding all over the county, but our finger drain system performed beautifully." And two more ball fields were put back into play just in time for tournament season.