Metropolitan Branch Trail Detour

[dbehrend]

The DCist reported that construction on Tanner Park will begin in January and last 10-12 months ( https://dcist.com/story/18/12/04/noma-set-to-break-ground-on-tanner-park-in-january/ ).

“The Metropolitan Branch Trail will be temporarily rerouted around the site once work begins. This detour, which will include a protected two-way lane on R Street and Harry Thomas Way NE, is expected to last around five months.”

The smoothed out curve near R St will be worth any minor inconvenience. I’m glad to see that the detour seems thoughtfully planned.

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[Mark]

@dbehrend 183371 wrote:

The DCist reported that construction on Tanner Park will begin in January and last 10-12 months ( https://dcist.com/story/18/12/04/noma-set-to-break-ground-on-tanner-park-in-january/ ).

“The Metropolitan Branch Trail will be temporarily rerouted around the site once work begins. This detour, which will include a protected two-way lane on R Street and Harry Thomas Way NE, is expected to last around five months.”

The smoothed out curve near R St will be worth any minor inconvenience. I’m glad to see that the detour seems thoughtfully planned.

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I’ve been riding in a state of wonderment past the work being done on the construction of a relatively small stretch of new sidewalk on McCormack Place between Bates Road and Catholic U. I suppose this is part of the planned northward expansion of the Metropolitan Branch Trail. But this project does strike me as rather odd. The sidewalk is being buit along a road that hardly gets any traffic at all. Indeed, McCormack connects to Bates, whose exit onto Fort Totten is blocked off. Bates itself provides access only to a waste disposal station and a CU soccer field. There also is a very little used sidewalk on the other side of McCormack. They have been working on the small strecth of new sidewalk for some time (I believe since October) and progress has proceeded at a snail’s pace. The construction crew has several people and there are sign holders in the street ready to stop or slow down the almost non-existent traffic. When I rode by yesterday, i saw a sign indicating that the project was on hold until April.

[LhasaCM]

@Mark 186482 wrote:

I’ve been riding in a state of wonderment past the work being done on the construction of a relatively small stretch of new sidewalk on McCormack Place between Bates Road and Catholic U. I suppose this is part of the planned northward expansion of the Metropolitan Branch Trail. But this project does strike me as rather odd. The sidewalk is being buit along a road that hardly gets any traffic at all. Indeed, McCormack connects to Bates, whose exit onto Fort Totten is blocked off. Bates itself provides access only to a waste disposal station and a CU soccer field. There also is a very little used sidewalk on the other side of McCormack. They have been working on the small strecth of new sidewalk for some time (I believe since October) and progress has proceeded at a snail’s pace. The construction crew has several people and there are sign holders in the street ready to stop or slow down the almost non-existent traffic. When I rode by yesterday, i saw a sign indicating that the project was on hold until April.

I think the “no work from mid-January through the end of March” is part of a normal DDOT policy I’ve seen elsewhere, and is noted on the project’s “two week look ahead” at https://www.metbranchtrail-forttotten.com/two-week-look-ahead/. That part of the construction (completely different project from Tanner Park) also has been doing a good job of posting weekly progress reports on their website at https://www.metbranchtrail-forttotten.com/weekly-progress-report-2/.

As to the level of traffic on that road – Saturday’s are actually quite busy (and about the only time I consider using the sidepath), so fixing/improving the off-street route is welcome, just not as welcome as the connection alongside the train tracks past the dump.

[Mark]

@LhasaCM 186485 wrote:

I think the “no work from mid-January through the end of March” is part of a normal DDOT policy I’ve seen elsewhere, and is noted on the project’s “two week look ahead” at https://www.metbranchtrail-forttotten.com/two-week-look-ahead/. That part of the construction (completely different project from Tanner Park) also has been doing a good job of posting weekly progress reports on their website at https://www.metbranchtrail-forttotten.com/weekly-progress-report-2/.

As to the level of traffic on that road – Saturday’s are actually quite busy (and about the only time I consider using the sidepath), so fixing/improving the off-street route is welcome, just not as welcome as the connection alongside the train tracks past the dump.

Thanks for your reply and the useful links.

I didn’t think of Saturday usage, as I only use the trail as part of my weekday commute.

[Author]

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