March 2015 Trail Condition Reports

[consularrider]

Please post updates on trail conditions from throughout the region here.

Topic

[vern]

@PotomacCyclist 110585 wrote:

There’s a big sinkhole on 18th St. S. at the intersection with S. Bell St., near the Crystal City Metro entrance. No bike trail there but many people ride through there going to/from the Crystal City connector to the MVT. The sinkhole is marked off with several orange traffic cones. The hole is about 5 feet in length (seriously). The entire section of pavement has crumbled and dropped about 3-6 inches.

That was a construction site a week ago. I don’t understand why they only partially filled the excavation.

Staying with the Crystal City theme…The bike lanes on Eads are proving to not be impervious to the tourist buses.

[PotomacCyclist]

I saw a fair number of tourists/school groups this past weekend. (I’m assuming they were visiting school groups, because you don’t normally see large groups of teenagers in Crystal City on the weekends otherwise. They also wear group T-shirts or school jackets from out-of-state schools.) They are trying to beat the cherry blossom rush, I guess. But peak bloom isn’t supposed to start until April 11th this year, according to the Nat’l Park Service.

[consularrider]

@PotomacCyclist 110594 wrote:

I saw a fair number of tourists/school groups this past weekend. (I’m assuming they were visiting school groups, because you don’t normally see large groups of teenagers in Crystal City on the weekends otherwise. They also wear group T-shirts or school jackets from out-of-state schools.) They are trying to beat the cherry blossom rush, I guess. But peak bloom isn’t supposed to start until April 11th this year, according to the Nat’l Park Service.

Spring break trip time.

[KWL]

@Terpfan 110577 wrote:

Thanks for reports, I’ll probably take MVT home tonight as a result of them.

While I was pleasantly surprised to find my Longbridge►Pentagon►Memorial Circle►110 trail►Rosslyn►Key Bridge route was virtually the same distance as MVT►Key Bridge, the four crossings of the GW Parkway have me longing for the MVT route. I too will go home that way tonight.

[dbb]

@vern 110591 wrote:

Staying with the Crystal City theme…The bike lanes on Eads are proving to not be impervious to the tourist buses.

Please take photos that show the license plates and bus lines and call Arlington Parking Enforcement at 703-228-4141 or the County Police non-emergency number at 703-558-2222 and ask for some spot enforcement. I’d like to believe that even tour bus drivers can be trained.

[vern]

Forecast low of 37 at DCA and IAD so there should be no refreeze issues in the morning.

[PotomacCyclist]

There might be further issues with tour buses in the short-term period. Construction is scheduled to begin on the Interim Multimodal Transportation center at the Crystal City Metro station in April. The project is estimated to take a year to complete. 18th St. underneath the Rte. 1 overpass will have diagonal bus bays added to the outer lanes in both directions. The sidewalks will be replaced and the lighting under the overpass will be improved. S. Bell St. will also be converted to two-way traffic, between 15th and 18th Streets. I’ve seen tour buses parked on that block. There are tour bus parking kiosks on that block.

The intersection of S. Bell & 18th will be altered as well, with the split lanes of Bell St. being moved together, and the pedestrian plaza expanded into the area where the southbound right-hand turn lane exists today. The triangular pedestrian island would be removed to create space for the realigned Bell St.

If the construction displaces the tour buses over the next year, there could be more incentive for the bus drivers to find parking spots on Eads, unless there are other accommodations.

[Terpfan]

@KWL 110614 wrote:

While I was pleasantly surprised to find my Longbridge►Pentagon►Memorial Circle►110 trail►Rosslyn►Key Bridge route was virtually the same distance as MVT►Key Bridge, the four crossings of the GW Parkway have me longing for the MVT route. I too will go home that way tonight.

Ha, sounds like my route, which has been Kings Hwy-Telegraphy-Eisenhower Bridge/route-Commonwealth-Crystal-Longbridge-Pentagon-Memorial-then through the city. It’s not that I mind it too much, it’s only a mile longer, it’s just the various stoplights and my two crossings (Washington Blvd and exit ramp off it) are wearing on me. I guess I’m used to the spoiled route of a handful of Georgetown stoplights/stopsigns then few Old Town stop signs and then only three more lights to home versus the 30 or so odd lights on current route.

[Steve O]

@vern 110631 wrote:

Forecast low of 37 at DCA and IAD so there should be no refreeze issues in the morning.

However, note that standing water on a dark surface can refreeze even when air temps are significantly above freezing. Just as a surface will get hotter than surrounding air from radiant heat from the sun, a surface can drop below ambient air temperature by radiating heat to the cold of outer space. This will happen more on a clear night than a cloudy night.

Case in point, there was black ice on my sidewalk this morning even though it never dropped below freezing last night.

[TwoWheelsDC]

4MR is just starting to spill over on to the W&OD in the Wilson underpass. It’s definitely going to flood when the rain starts.

[Boomer Cycles]

I rode today between 10am to 2pm on my roadie with slicks on the WOD from Virginia Lane to Fairfax Dr, where I took to the streets until the Marine Corps Park, 110 trail along Arlington cemetery, crossed Memorial Bridge, circled the Mall, laps at Hains Point, crossed 14th Street Bridge -> MVT -> 4MR -> WOD -> Virginia Lane. All clear, except for 2 ice patches beneath the 14th Street Bridge on MVT and the Rt 50 overpass on the WOD.

[vern]

WOD is wide open and ready for business between Shirlington and Reston. Only exceptions are the very short crusty area at the route 50 underpass and about a 100 foot section just west of Gallows that is very slushy and desirable.

[Phatboing]

The slushfest between Cedar and Gallows turned out to be my undoing with the skinny slicks. My bike took a knee to the pedal and a crotch to the top tube, but is otherwise fine.

[PotomacCyclist]

There’s still a small patch of snow next to the 14th St.Bridge. Many people could ride through it, but if you want to be cautious, walk your bike across it. It’s only a couple feet in length.

[PotomacCyclist]

@vern 110591 wrote:

That was a construction site a week ago. I don’t understand why they only partially filled the excavation.

Are you thinking of the intersection of Eads and 18th? That was a construction site. But there’s a new problem a block over, at Bell St. I think it’s a storm sewer issue. The orange traffic cones are labeled ARL WSS, the Water, Sewer, Streets dept. There are other smaller potholes nearby too.

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