Four Mile Run Trail Detour between Meade and Lang

[Henry]

Pics please!!

[ChristoB50]

Not open yet. Just looked at it longingly thru the fencing…

[zsionakides]

I went through it both ways today and have a couple comments:

– The pavement is really uneven for a brand new section of paving. Compared to the sections of 4MR further east recently rebuilt, it’s of a much lower quality job.
– Going west, the widened part abruptly narrows before going around the curve to the T intersection next to Glebe. It’s an odd transition and would have been nice if they completed the widening all the way to Glebe instead of stopping short.

[ChristoB50]

Agreed… I suppose because the apartment contractor did this as part of that project, perhaps it didn’t receive the same attention as a county repaving would’ve? And perhaps the county would have said, what’s 50 more feet to reach Glebe, and thus fix the messy bits right near that 3way…
sigh.

[zsionakides]

@ChristoB50 193546 wrote:

Agreed… I suppose because the apartment contractor did this as part of that project, perhaps it didn’t receive the same attention as a county repaving would’ve? And perhaps the county would have said, what’s 50 more feet to reach Glebe, and thus fix the messy bits right near that 3way…
sigh.

So it would have cost about $200 (based on $4/sq ft for asphalt) to go all the way to Glebe. That is really being cheap on this project.

[CaseyKane50]

@Henry 193439 wrote:

Pics please!!

Eastbound
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Westbound
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[zsionakides]

Riding through this evening with the rain, you can see just how poorly this job was done. There were three large pools of water, one of which was at least a foot deep, at different points in the new section, which are from obvious grading problems in the construction. Considering there weren’t pools of water under Mt Vernon or Glebe Road on 4MR, I imagine this will be a lot worse in bigger rain events.

I thought this project was done poorly to begin with, but what came out of this is worse than what was there before. The developer either did this on the cheap or had no idea what they were doing.

[semperiden]

@zsionakides 198022 wrote:

Riding through this evening with the rain, you can see just how poorly this job was done. There were three large pools of water, one of which was at least a foot deep, at different points in the new section, which are from obvious grading problems in the construction. Considering there weren’t pools of water under Mt Vernon or Glebe Road on 4MR, I imagine this will be a lot worse in bigger rain events.

I thought this project was done poorly to begin with, but what came out of this is worse than what was there before. The developer either did this on the cheap or had no idea what they were doing.

Yeah. I commute through here every day and I am not quite sure how this is better both aesthetically and functionality wise. The pools were even worse after it was first built, so I am really hoping it has something to do with drainage that they will fix at the other side of the fence.

[arlcxrider]

Does the county a) have engineering standards for trails other than the basics like width, or b) simply fail to enforce them during inspections or plan review?

Poor engineering of cycle paths seems to be a nearly universal phenomenon, starting with a lack of proper slope, no provisions for drainage, and poor sub-base compaction (hence the dips and depressions that fill with water). And they wonder why the asphalt pavement fails prematurely under the negligible loading imposed by bicycles. Apparently civil engineering is a lost art where cycle trails are concerned.

[zsionakides]

@semperiden 198025 wrote:

Yeah. I commute through here every day and I am not quite sure how this is better both aesthetically and functionality wise. The pools were even worse after it was first built, so I am really hoping it has something to do with drainage that they will fix at the other side of the fence.

I don’t think it’s a drainage issue, though widening the path may have left less surface area to absorb rainwater. The asphalt has been really uneven since day 1, making me think it’s a mix of grading and low spots on the path that collect water. Just poor construction in general there, and makes me wonder about the quality of construction in the development they are building.

[OneEighth]

@zsionakides 198039 wrote:

I don’t think it’s a drainage issue, though widening the path may have left less surface area to absorb rainwater. The asphalt has been really uneven since day 1, making me think it’s a mix of grading and low spots on the path that collect water. Just poor construction in general there, and makes me wonder about the quality of construction in the development they are building.

Agree that it’s poor grading more than anything else. Unless the surface is graded to shed water, nothing they do on the still under development side of the fence will help.

My question is, if construction of the path was an Arlington requirement on the builder, who in Arlington is responsible for ensuring it was done properly?

Bike Arlington- any thoughts?

[dasgeh]

Thanks, everyone, for reporting it to this thread. I made ArlCo aware of this thread, and they’re looking into it. The answer I got was that the developer is responsible for it, because it was a condition of the site plan. ArlCo should have inspected when it was done, and probably did, but it seems like these issues may not have been clear at that point (or I could be totally off and they haven’t inspected yet because the totality of the work isn’t done). Either way, developer is still responsible for problems with the construction.

FWIW, there’s been a kinda similar issue in Courthouse — a developer went rogue and changed the westbound (climbing) bike lane on 14th St N just west of the Queen St bridge into parking. ArlCo put up no parking signs but hasn’t restored the bike lane. It has been 6 months.

[Henry]

@dasgeh 198196 wrote:

Thanks, everyone, for reporting it to this thread. I made ArlCo aware of this thread, and they’re looking into it. The answer I got was that the developer is responsible for it, because it was a condition of the site plan. ArlCo should have inspected when it was done, and probably did, but it seems like these issues may not have been clear at that point (or I could be totally off and they haven’t inspected yet because the totality of the work isn’t done). Either way, developer is still responsible for problems with the construction.

Gillian, to whom at the County did you refer this?

Henry

[dasgeh]

@Henry 198245 wrote:

Gillian, to whom at the County did you refer this?

Ritch, and I’ve already heard back that they’ve spoken to the contractor. Work will be done next month, which will require the trail to be closed for a few days – the detour will be the new sidewalk (which means the schedule could slip if the sidewalk isn’t ready).

[Henry]

@dasgeh 198247 wrote:

Ritch, and I’ve already heard back that they’ve spoken to the contractor. Work will be done next month, which will require the trail to be closed for a few days – the detour will be the new sidewalk (which means the schedule could slip if the sidewalk isn’t ready).

Thanks. I rode it this morning and it was fine. Fence is down and could be things will drain toward the parking lot. Also looks like there will at least be a connecting path for the residents.

Henry

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