Latest W&OD detour

This topic has 13 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 5 months ago by pmf.

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February 25, 2020 at 7:00 pm #921795

pmf
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Noticed signs going up yesterday morning. On the way home, the trail was closed. It was fun to navigate the detour through a park for the first time in the dark.

Its the hill that runs along I-66 near I-495 between Route 7 and Gallows.

So now its back to three detours. I guess its progress, but it moves awful damn slow. Seems like they put the signs up and then actual work begins six months later. The bridge over 29 will be nice, if it ever gets completed. Seems like it was mostly done quite a while ago. Detouring on 29, or that bumpy sidewalk next to it, especially in the dark, is getting old. I guess its only a matter of time before the section running next to I-66 near Falls Church gets closed off to replace the sound barrier. That’s going to suck.
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February 25, 2020 at 7:15 pm #1104806

Tania
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There was discussion about this a few days ago.

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?16210-Temporary-Closure-and-Detour-of-W-amp-OD-Trail-%26%2365279%3Bat-Idylwood-Park-Starting-around-Feb-24th

Only 3 detours? It does kinda feel like the whole thing is under construction…

February 25, 2020 at 7:59 pm #1104808

SarahBee
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The price of progress!

February 25, 2020 at 8:02 pm #1104809

pmf
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@Tania 198766 wrote:

There was discussion about this a few days ago.

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?16210-Temporary-Closure-and-Detour-of-W-amp-OD-Trail-%26%2365279%3Bat-Idylwood-Park-Starting-around-Feb-24th

Only 3 detours? It does kinda feel like the whole thing is under construction…

Closed for only a week! Well, that’s good news. I’ve been bike commuting on the W&OD from Northern VA into DC for 27 years. The last 2-3 years have been more detours and construction than the 25 years that proceeded it. My favorite was the cyclo-cross mud pit area that was created by Roosevelt Island when they repaired the parking lot. Why use some gravel when ground up mulch will mix with the rain nicely?

Then there was the closure at the end of the 14-th street bridge that had me going up and down stairs, only to end with the signage pole being left directly in the middle of the bike lane. I assume some day they’ll close it again and fix that.

But as much as I grumble, we’re fortunate to have the paths we do. Its been a tremendous boon to my physical and mental health.

February 26, 2020 at 7:42 pm #1104834

joetats
Participant

This past weekend was my first time riding the W&OD east of Falls Church, and it really showed me how spoiled we are on the western end of it.

The bridge over 29 part is what keeps me on this side, I’d probably come up with my own detour through there if I were commuting on it daily.

It’s a great trail! The problem parts probably don’t add up to a half mile along the whole thing, but they are definitely there.

February 26, 2020 at 8:41 pm #1104836

pmf
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@joetats 198801 wrote:

This past weekend was my first time riding the W&OD east of Falls Church, and it really showed me how spoiled we are on the western end of it.

The bridge over 29 part is what keeps me on this side, I’d probably come up with my own detour through there if I were commuting on it daily.

It’s a great trail! The problem parts probably don’t add up to a half mile along the whole thing, but they are definitely there.

A lot of people cut through the fire station parking lot. I refuse to do that. Firemen don’t need to be dodging cyclists when they go out on a call.

February 26, 2020 at 8:49 pm #1104837

joetats
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@pmf 198803 wrote:

A lot of people cut through the fire station parking lot. I refuse to do that. Firemen don’t need to be dodging cyclists when they go out on a call.

oh yikes, yeah that doesn’t sound like a good idea. I’d rather get off the trail a bit earlier and loop through some of the more residential areas

February 26, 2020 at 9:17 pm #1104839

dcvelobrew
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@joetats 198805 wrote:

oh yikes, yeah that doesn’t sound like a good idea. I’d rather get off the trail a bit earlier and loop through some of the more residential areas

There is a narrow crushed gravel path that runs along the side of the firehouse which is ridable if you have relatively wide tires. You still have to ride in the west end driveway of the firestation (the end that is opposite from where the trucks emerge) and then hop on the path on the right side.

February 27, 2020 at 3:19 pm #1104850

pmf
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@dcvelobrew 198807 wrote:

There is a narrow crushed gravel path that runs along the side of the firehouse which is ridable if you have relatively wide tires. You still have to ride in the west end driveway of the firestation (the end that is opposite from where the trucks emerge) and then hop on the path on the right side.

Yeah, I tried that once. That trail is really narrow and like you note, better if your bike has wide tires. Mine don’t.

I do enjoy looping around and checking out all the crashed Teslas at the body shop. And I never knew about Bikenetic bike shop.

February 27, 2020 at 3:53 pm #1104853

Steve O
Participant

If you are following the detour signs to get around the Lee Highway/Route 29 bridge, you are doing it wrong. Use the Columbia Street detour instead:

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?15613-seeking-advice-on-Banneker-Park-detour

February 27, 2020 at 4:49 pm #1104856

huskerdont
Participant

I’m all for ‘splorin’ the neighborhoods. Forget the official detour and devise your own. Get the bikes out everywhere sos they have to be reckoned with and counted. Columbia, as SteveO says. For the I-66 one, 9th to Lexington to Wilson gets you back on the W&OD better than the detour, and you don’t have to deal with the underpass maybe being muddy.

Not a detour, but I recently discovered you can take a quick jaunt on Gallows to get to Cottage, then take that and a coupla other roads pretty much all the way to Caboose, avoiding the foot traffic on the trail around Vienna. Likewise, Hunter Station Road to Lawyers and Twin Branch does similar near Reston if it’s a crowded day. Lawyers has a bike lane that’s so unused, it had poison ivy vines growing across it last summer.

February 28, 2020 at 4:13 pm #1104874

pmf
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@Steve O 198820 wrote:

If you are following the detour signs to get around the Lee Highway/Route 29 bridge, you are doing it wrong. Use the Columbia Street detour instead:

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?15613-seeking-advice-on-Banneker-Park-detour

Thanks. I tried that route you posted and prefer to just use the detour. It’s not that big of an inconvenience, and you do get a light to cross Lee Highway which helps during rush hour.

February 28, 2020 at 10:48 pm #1104865

Steve O
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@pmf 198844 wrote:

Thanks. I tried that route you posted and prefer to just use the detour. It’s not that big of an inconvenience, and you do get a light to cross Lee Highway which helps during rush hour.

There’s a light at Columbia to cross Lee Highway as well.

March 2, 2020 at 7:47 pm #1104920

pmf
Participant

Well, the good news is that it really was gone in a week, All clear this morning (3/2).

Hope I don’t get wet on the way home tonight. I’m getting tired of all this rain, but it beats snow.
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