Memorial Bridge closure?

[PotomacCyclist]

Posting here to move this non-spam thread back to the top of the forum index.

[PotomacCyclist]

I’m pretty sure I saw a large red bus driving over Memorial Bridge just now. I’m on the Metro, so the bridge is off in the distance. But I could see the large red bus traveling along the bridge. It tends to stick out.

[PotomacCyclist]

WUSA reported that there is a grace period for buses, until they can find alternate routes. NPS did not say how long the grace period would last.

http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/dc/2015/05/28/memorial-bridge-closed-for-emergency-repairs/28119749/

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Cool animation of the bridge skeleton and how it should operate

[Brendan von Buckingham]

@oldbikechick 117069 wrote:

I rode on the bridge in the morning and the evening. I was paying attention in the morning since I had read the articles and it was exactly as described. Towards the middle of the bridge – they have closed off one car lane on each side and about 4 feet of the sidewalk next to the car lane. There is still plenty of room to bike and get around pedestrians. I was only on the south/east side of the bridge but I think it was the same on both sides. In the evening I had completely forgotten about it and was thinking about something else and I know I crossed the bridge, but I have no recollection of it, so I don’t think it affected me much!

Pretty much agree. The sidewalk is three panels wide, each panel 4 feet wide. At the center of the span, the row of panels along the curb is closed, but this line was already substantially obstructed by lamp posts and poor paving conditions. For the length of the closure, it’s not much of a change or loss of bicycle space. There are some new pinch points however where friction between cyclists and pedestrians will increase. Just have to pass smarter and clearer.

One trick is that construction is only at the center of the span. On approach it will look like traffic is very slow and cyclists comfortable in traffic might be tempted to use the road and split the lanes through traffic. However, once traffic clears the construction at mid-span, it gets a third lane back and gets right back up to speed which would put a cyclist in an uncomfortable spot. But if you’re really Cat Sixin and can hold 30 mph (which I’ve see occasionally), go for it, I guess.

[mattotoole]

Now that repairs to this bridge are in the news, how about making some noise about our biggest problems with it: screeching tires and near misses at either end, as people on bikes and walking scurry across traffic trying to get on and off the bridge, or find where the trail continues. We need better approaches, but even a little signage would help.

I hear the screeching tires and see people stranded in the roadway every time I’m down there. NPS is negligent in not addressing it. Just because they’ve been doing so for 50+ years doesn’t change that.

Greg? Anyone?

[baiskeli]

@mattotoole 117160 wrote:

Now that repairs to this bridge are in the news, how about making some noise about our biggest problems with it: screeching tires and near misses at either end, as people on bikes and walking scurry across traffic trying to get on and off the bridge, or find where the trail continues. We need better approaches, but even a little signage would help.

I hear the screeching tires and see people stranded in the roadway every time I’m down there. NPS is negligent in not addressing it. Just because they’ve been doing so for 50+ years doesn’t change that.

Greg? Anyone?

This applies to the Va. side:

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?8230-Memorial-Circle-Transportation-Plan-and-Environmental-Assessment-Open-House

[Bryanh]

I sent this to the NPS today, lets see what they say:
As a DC metro area resident, I bike extensively through NPS properties. Some have decent bike facilities; others are deficient in this area or have no accommodations for biking. Executive Order 13514 requires federal agencies to limit greenhouse gas emissions (bikes of course, produce fewer greenhouse gases than buses or even electric Metro Rail lines since they derive their power from fossil fuel power plants). So by helping people commute via bike through NPS properties, this can help alleviate CO2 emissions. One of my biggest commute obstacles is the Arlington Memorial Bridge and the National Mall. Both tend to be clogged with pedestrian tourist and are enclosed with high speed multi-lane roads that are not conducive to biking. Adding bike facilities to these two NPS properties would encourage more bike commuting and help fulfill the goals of Executive Order 13514. One area of low hanging fruit where the NPS can accommodate bikes and limit potential conflicts with tourist and vehicles is the Memorial Bridge. With a major repair and rebuild now in the planning stages, looking towards a future with dedicated bike facilities for this bridge is a must. It is evident that this bridge does not need the current capacity it possesses. The unintended consequence of shutting down one travel lane in each direction due to a failing roadbed at the bridge’s midpoint shows that if the bridge was reduce to 4 lanes it would not produce large amounts of congestion. I bike this bridge every day and even at the height of rush hour, traffic still flows smoothly over the bridge. The NPS should consider making this bridge permanently 4 lanes and adding dedicated bi-directional bike facilities to both sides of the bridge with subsequent connections to future bike lanes leading away from the bridge, along the Mall and the waterfront into DC. This would encourage biking and reducing risks to both bikers and pedestrians on the bridge. And since bikes will not damage the roadbed, these bi-directional lanes can be added right now simply by expanding the lane closure to encompass the entire bridge and allowing bike to use these lanes.

[chris_s]

Here’s another fun data point about Memorial Bridge:

[bobco85]

To add to chris_s’s point and show further proof for Bryanh’s idea, here’s the daily volumes for the Arlington Memorial Bridge as compared with other bridges on the Potomac (the presentation can be found here: http://www.ctb.virginia.gov/resources/2015/july/pre/pres/PotomacRiverStudy.pdf):

[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=9195&stc=1[/IMG]

Memorial Bridge really does not get much use from drivers when you compare it to the other bridges in the area, so I think that it would be even more of a candidate for lane reduction. The driving going on at well above the speed limit during rush hour of all times (I am assuming this is the case for evenings, too) would slow down with less lanes, potentially making the crosswalks on the either side of Memorial Circle safer.

With a cash-strapped NPS, we could at the very least say that bike lanes on Memorial Bridge require less maintenance and cause less wear-and-tear

[Steve O]

@Bryanh 120817 wrote:

I sent this to the NPS today, lets see what they say: Executive Order 13514 requires federal agencies to limit greenhouse gas emissions

Just an update that E.O. 13693 replaced 13514 (and others), but that in no way changes anything about the government’s goal of reducing greenhouse gases nor the strong points you made in your letter.

[rcannon100]

How the draw bridge works

[ShawnoftheDread]

Is it counterweights? I bet it’s counterweights.

#duh

[mstone]

I thought it worked more like this: |

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[jcflack54]

Any effect on the MVT where it goes under the bridge? If they were to do a major rebuild I’d love to see that widened. But all I’m realistically hoping is that they don’t have to close it during the repairs.

[Author]

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