Good News on Infrastructure thread

[chris_s]

The improved Rt 27 Trail (the bridge construction by the Pentagon) will open right after Christmas.

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The Route 27/110 bridge rehabilitation project will reach a pair of milestones next week, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

On Tuesday, Dec. 26, the permanent shared-use path for bicyclists and pedestrians along eastbound Route 27 will open. The shared-use path is 14 feet wide on the bridge (replacing a concrete sidewalk) and 10 feet wide on the approaches.

From what I saw when I rode through on my way to the Hains Point 100, it looks like they’ve widened the trail as far back Eastward as the road to nowhere. I didn’t get a good luck how far they went to the west, they at least widened it across the porkchop separating the ramps in and out of the Pentagon parking lot.

[chris_s]

Also a new small, trail with mediocre paving quality has been opened connecting the 27 Trail to the Pike. You no longer have to slalom past the security booth by the 9/11 memorial. In fact, the slalom access appears to have been CLOSED. This is potentially problematic for some folks because the new trail cannot be easily access from the westbound lanes of Columbia Pike (for those cyclists who take the lane rather than the sidewalk/sidepath along the Pike). Also BEWARE when heading FROM DC TOWARD ARLINGTON on this connector. If, when you get to the Pike you want to cross the highway ramp to go under 27 the sight lines are truly and remarkably terrible. You cannot see the cars. The cars cannot see you. Proceed with extreme caution.

[elbows]

I agree about the bad sight lines!

Also, if you want to make your way over to the tunnel under 395 to catch a bus it is a tad more inconvenient.

Wish they would see fit to reconsider the “Cyclists must dismount” sign under 27. There is about a 1 in 600 chance you will encounter someone in the stretch.

[dbb]

I rode it this morning. I think there needs to be a decent curb cut about where the C in Columbia Pike is on the right side of the map. If you are trying to get to Crystal City, you have to get to 244 heading south.

[Judd]

@elbows 169928 wrote:

I agree about the bad sight lines!

Also, if you want to make your way over to the tunnel under 395 to catch a bus it is a tad more inconvenient.

Wish they would see fit to reconsider the “Cyclists must dismount” sign under 27. There is about a 1 in 600 chance you will encounter someone in the stretch.

There is about a 1 in 60,000 chance that a cyclist will actually dismount here.

[Judd]

@chris_s 169927 wrote:

Also a new small, trail with mediocre paving quality has been opened connecting the 27 Trail to the Pike. You no longer have to slalom past the security booth by the 9/11 memorial. In fact, the slalom access appears to have been CLOSED. This is potentially problematic for some folks because the new trail cannot be easily access from the westbound lanes of Columbia Pike (for those cyclists who take the lane rather than the sidewalk/sidepath along the Pike). Also BEWARE when heading FROM DC TOWARD ARLINGTON on this connector. If, when you get to the Pike you want to cross the highway ramp to go under 27 the sight lines are truly and remarkably terrible. You cannot see the cars. The cars cannot see you. Proceed with extreme caution.

I’ve been having to pull a U-Turn every morning since I take the lane down to the Pentagon to avoid having to cross 4 ramps across the trail. Plus traffic is light in the morning and it’s easy to coast at the speed limit down the hill.

The sight line is terrible from DC to Arlington. I 100% stop here. I started to rearrange some cones one night to create a neck down, but then I saw a Pentagon cop car and chickened out.

Agree with Dana that a new curb cut at the C in Columbia Pike would be great.

[Starduster]

@Judd 169936 wrote:

I’ve been having to pull a U-Turn every morning since I take the lane down to the Pentagon to avoid having to cross 4 ramps across the trail. Plus traffic is light in the morning and it’s easy to coast at the speed limit down the hill.

The sight line is terrible from DC to Arlington. I 100% stop here. I started to rearrange some cones one night to create a neck down, but then I saw a Pentagon cop car and chickened out.

Agree with Dana that a new curb cut at the C in Columbia Pike would be great.

On this stretch, going eastbound from Southgate, I will usually take the lane on the road. It is not that busy with car traffic, and hitting it in the big ring, I can get close to prevailing speed, which feels safer to me. I came across this change 2 months ago, and just went to the end of the median, and made a U-turn of it.

Elsewhere on this trail, the finished ped/bike lane on the bridge over J-D Highway supposedly will open after Christmas. Yay!

[n18]

Route 7/Tysons related:

1 – It looks like they are adding much needed sidewalks to RT-7 under RT-123 bridge. I couldn’t find more information about it at VDOT site.

Looking north(See Google maps street view):
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2 – VDOT is adding a bike/ped bridge over I-495 to the east of Tysons, and improving the connection to McLean Metro station. See VDOT page here and a bigger picture link below Google map on that page.

Begin Date Construction: Spring 2020
Est Completion Date: Fall 2020

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3 – VDOT is going to widen RT-7 from 4 to 6 lanes for a 7-Mile segment starting from Dulles Toll RD intersection, and going north/west. They would also add 10-foot wide MUP’s on both sides. See VDOT Page here. Final design was approved in April 2017. The design-build contract is scheduled to be awarded in early 2018. The entire project is scheduled for completion in late 2025.

[lordofthemark]

Sorry I have given up updating this, as I now have more serious infra tasks related to BPAC, but I had to come and here and mention this:

There is now a section of buffered bike lane on Eye Street SE, between S Cap and NJ Avenue. I had heard DDOT was looking at this area, but the implementation (tied to the new construction?) took me by surprise. There was already a conventional bike lane there, so this is a good example of better infra replacing not so great seg infra.

[Steve O]

I was just alerted to this:
http://www.alexandrianews.org/2018/04/vdot-to-renew-i-66-bridge-in-rosslyn/

It’s a VDOT project to overhaul the Roosevelt Bridge. Seems like it ought to include upgrading the bike/ped crossing.
How do we make that happen?

[bentbike33]

@Steve O 177439 wrote:

I was just alerted to this:
http://www.alexandrianews.org/2018/04/vdot-to-renew-i-66-bridge-in-rosslyn/

It’s a VDOT project to overhaul the Roosevelt Bridge. Seems like it ought to include upgrading the bike/ped crossing.
How do we make that happen?

From the article:

When work is complete, drivers will have a new surface and major elements to maintain safety and extend the overall life of the crossing. Crews will: Resurface the deck; Repair piers and abutments; [and] Repave I-66 approaching the bridge for a smooth transition

Doesn’t sound to me like it could include a major redo of the sidepaths since, IIRC, they are above the level of the main travel deck.

A few weeks ago, when the light was still poor for my commutes, I noticed a lot of rusty debris on the Trollheim under the southernmost span of the TR bridge (the one with the sidepath to nowhere) but could not really see what might be going on up there. Haven’t thought to look carefully up there with better daylight because the volume of rusty debris has diminished.

[Steve O]

CORRECTION: It’s not the Roosevelt Bridge. It’s a bridge that carries I-66 traffic over a couple of ramps just after coming off the Roosevelt Bridge in VA.
Not sure if there’s any impact on people using bikes or on foot.

[bentbike33]

@Steve O 177442 wrote:

CORRECTION: It’s not the Roosevelt Bridge. It’s a bridge that carries I-66 traffic over a couple of ramps just after coming off the Roosevelt Bridge in VA.
Not sure if there’s any impact on people using bikes or on foot.

Yeah, looks like this bit. No notable bike or ped facilities.

[infinitebuffalo]

VDOT last month awarded the contract to build the Rosslyn Bike/Ped Improvements, originally designed by Arlington as the Lynn Street Esplanade and Custis Trail Improvements.

Among other things, improvements include wider, ADA-compliant sidewalks and a bike lane on North Lynn from 19th St north to Lee Hwy, and a substantially wider Custis Trail (which is also twice as far from traffic!) between Lynn and Oak St.

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Work is to begin later this spring and is expected to be complete in spring 2020.

[chris_s]

The Berkeley development along S Glebe Rd is finally breaking ground. As part of this project, the developer will be widening the stretch of Four Mile Run Trail behind the development from 8′ to 12′.

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