A Solution for Trollheim

[Starduster]

While on vacation at Chincoteague, VA, I traveled on a possible solution for our own diabolically slippery-when-wet Trollheim (the sheltered boardwalk between TR Island and Memorial Bridge on the Mt. Vernon Trail). I had long wondered about a concrete (pun intended) solution to this segment after observing how wooden railroad ties are being replaced with cast concrete ties. So…[ATTACH=CONFIG]18153[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]18154[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]18155[/ATTACH]
behold a stretch of “boardwalk” over salt marsh grass, part of the bike path and road over the channel to Assateague Island National Seashore. The planks are wider, true, but they got the color right, and there *is* a wood texture courtesy of the boards used as a mold, all to emulate wood. It has a grippy texture and looks to be safe to ride when wet.

Now if the National Park Service says, “It can’t be done”, you can point and say, “You already have!”

Topic

[JustinW]

Saw another option in Chesapeake Beach, along the Bay. They have a short but pleasant rail trail that uses some sort of composite material (perhaps combining plastic resins & recycled wood, a la Trex?) that worked well for a long over-marsh stretch.

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So yes, there are multiple options that exist and are used successfully. Probably takes nothing more than money and momentum to move towards one of these….

[Starduster]

…and the lobbying effort required to “demonstrate the need”.

[baiskeli]

@JustinW 179715 wrote:

Saw another option in Chesapeake Beach, along the Bay. They have a short but pleasant rail trail that uses some sort of composite material (perhaps combining plastic resins & recycled wood, a la Trex?)

I’m a big fan of composite, but it can be slippery.

In any event, whatever the material, it would likely be not only better to ride on but more durable and require less maintenance and last much longer before needing replacement, which might justify the upfront cost. Of course, NPS/Congress may not care anyway.

[Judd]

The composite deck is used at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens for their boardwalks out into the marsh.

The composite would likely be an improvement, however one of the biggest challenges on Trollheim is the angle of he turns. It doesn’t feel like it but you’re making two quick sharp angled turns. Add just a bit of moisture and boom.

The bridge could use a realignment to make the split going southbound more of a drift to the left and less of a left turn followed by an immediate right turn.

Money is certainly a barrier to doing this but a much bigger factor is that moving any part of the bridge would require some extensive bureaucratic processes, namely an environmental assessment.

[rcannon100]

@JustinW 179715 wrote:

Probably takes nothing more than …

Working cooperatively with the NPS

[huskerdont]

There is a composite or plastic plank example closer than that, right on Roosevelt Island itself.

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Not sure if it’s the same material. The problem with this one is that, since the water doesn’t soak in at all, it beads and pools up on the surface. That’s pretty much okay for walking, but will still lead to slipping out for some bike tires, especially on turns.

I ran on it for years though and don’t remember it ever growing slimy alga-like films, so we’d have that going for us.

[Greenbelt]

On the slippery ART boardwalk near Bladensburg, God has installed a speed bump.
[IMG]https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/37767212_1803263269740382_5176277504054263808_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=5bbb1226ff3775ec702699c0073f4ce3&oe=5BDB248E[/IMG]

[ursus]

It’s going to be improved/fixed/whatever https://www.arlnow.com/2018/11/20/biking-boating-changes-approved-for-theodore-roosevelt-island/.

[Emm]

@ursus 182972 wrote:

It’s going to be improved/fixed/whatever https://www.arlnow.com/2018/11/20/biking-boating-changes-approved-for-theodore-roosevelt-island/.

This is the part of the document which may be of interest (page 5-21):

MOUNT VERNON TRAIL BRIDGE 31
• Repair and realign the Mount Vernon Trail Bridge 31 at the trail juncture,
located south of the parking area (See Figure 162).
• Replace and widen the bridge decking with non-weathering, textured,
and well drained surfacing.
• Install Mount Vernon Trail standard railings along all elevated portions of
the Trail.
• Clear the vegetation edge to improve sight distance. Improve wayfinding
to give cyclists and pedestrians more advance warning on trail.

Starting on 7-29 they go through the detailed options with 4 possibilities.

LAND CIRCULATION – OFF-ISLAND TRAILS
The Treatment Options for the Off-Island Trails pertain specifically to MVT
Bridge 31, the elevated, decked portion of the MVT that beings approximately
200 feet south of the Virginia approach to the TR Island pedestrian bridge. Four
options were identified for the rehabilitation of Bridge 31. All alternatives would
include horizontal realignment of the north end of Bridge 31, replacement of
the bridge deck and railing to provide a smoother riding surface, and additional
structure reinforcement to eliminate deck deflection.

[huskerdont]

“Construction: Spring 2020 – Fall 2020 “

Don’t see this without a detour, and I wonder what the detour could possibly be. If you thought folks complained about the detours this summer…

I’ll stay with my morning route through Georgetown, but going home, I think I’ll go back to Water Street and the steps to the upstream side of Key Bridge. Really don’t want to ride M Street in afternoon traffic. I don’t feel it’s particularly unsafe; I just don’t like picking my way through stopped traffic at 5 mph. But unless some accommodation can be made along the parkway, folks traveling through on the MVT are going to have a long detour.

[Tania]

If it makes trollheim and the MVT even marginally better, the detours will be worth it. I think by then we should be in our new office building down at the Wharf (!!!) so I can just take W&OD/FMR/MVT up to 14th street. Although I guess I could do that even if we haven’t moved yet – it’s only a few miles more.

(I too have really been digging Key in the am – the just dawn views can’t be beat)

[huskerdont]

I take a ridiculous number of pics of that sunrise:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]18600[/ATTACH]

For me, one option could certainly be FMR/W&OD home in the afternoons. I like that; I can just say the reason I did the extra miles is I didn’t have a choice.

[bentbike33]

@huskerdont 182995 wrote:

“Construction: Spring 2020 – Fall 2020 “

This far out, this feels more like an approximate time frame rather than a construction schedule. Undoubtedly detours would be necessary, but I would think construction could be staged in such a way as to minimize the time during which it would be impossible to get both to the TR Bridge and the MVT from the TR Island parking lot.

[bentbike33]

@Emm 182975 wrote:

This is the part of the document which may be of interest (page 5-21):

MOUNT VERNON TRAIL BRIDGE 31
• Repair and realign the Mount Vernon Trail Bridge 31 at the trail juncture,
located south of the parking area (See Figure 162).
• Replace and widen the bridge decking with non-weathering, textured,
and well drained surfacing.
• Install Mount Vernon Trail standard railings along all elevated portions of
the Trail.
• Clear the vegetation edge to improve sight distance. Improve wayfinding
to give cyclists and pedestrians more advance warning on trail.

Starting on 7-29 they go through the detailed options with 4 possibilities.

LAND CIRCULATION – OFF-ISLAND TRAILS
The Treatment Options for the Off-Island Trails pertain specifically to MVT
Bridge 31, the elevated, decked portion of the MVT that beings approximately
200 feet south of the Virginia approach to the TR Island pedestrian bridge. Four
options were identified for the rehabilitation of Bridge 31. All alternatives would
include horizontal realignment of the north end of Bridge 31, replacement of
the bridge deck and railing to provide a smoother riding surface, and additional
structure reinforcement to eliminate deck deflection.

Do you have a link to this (these) documents? I could not find these quotes.

[Emm]

@bentbike33 183006 wrote:

Do you have a link to this (these) documents? I could not find these quotes.

Main Page:
https://parkplanning.nps.gov/documentsList.cfm?parkID=186&projectID=67514

First pdf under document list:
https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=186&projectID=67514&documentID=87000

[Author]

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