More Rock Creek Park trail construction coming

[DCAKen]

From WashCycle:

Widening and resurfacing of the Rock Creek Park Trail between P Street and Tilden, including construction of a new segment along Piney Branch and a new bridge south of the Zoo tunnel, is going out to bid soon, with construction expected to begin in Fall 2018. Detour information can be found here.

The project has been broken into seven stages, starting at the south end and working north. The big impact will be Stage 2, when the trail between P Street and Calvert Street will be closed for four months.

[DCAKen]

A public meeting about the final stage of the Beach Drive rehabilitation is being held in Silver Spring on May 15, from 7-8 pm

The National Park Service (NPS) invites residents, drivers, and trail users to an informational meeting about what we’ve accomplished so far as well as new construction. Since this project will temporarily close part of Beach Drive and some trails to all use, we will also share detours around the work area, which is between Joyce Road NW and the Maryland-District of Columbia border. We will host the meeting on May 15, 2018 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Plan to attend at the:

Silver Spring Library
Small Rooms 1 & 2 (third floor)
900 Wayne Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Check the Silver Spring Library website for information about transit options including bus, Metro, and parking. To request specific accommodations, like a sign language interpreter, please contact Jonathan Shafer at e-mail us or (202) 619-7186 by Wednesday, May 9. Join representatives from the NPS, Federal Highway Administration (FWHA), District Department of Transportation (DDOT), and DC Water who can answer questions about the rehabilitation of Beach Drive.

[DCAKen]

At last night’s public meeting, the project manager announced that Segment 3 (Broad Branch to Joyce) of Beach Drive will be finished a little earlier than expected and the last phase of the project (Joyce to the Maryland line) will be begin in mid-July. Beach Drive (and the trail from Joyce to Bingham) will be closed to all traffic, with the designated detour for pedestrians and cyclists to be the trail along Oregon Ave. Ross Drive and Ridge Road will be reopened to cars at this time. The short segment of Beach Drive from Wise Road to West Beach Drive will remain open for about six months to provide cut-through access, but this will be closed somewhere around January. Wise Road will also be closed, but it will not be rehabilitated. This final phase of the project is estimated to take about a year.

[Mariner]

@DCAKen 178348 wrote:

At last night’s public meeting, the project manager announced that Segment 3 (Broad Branch to Joyce) of Beach Drive will be finished a little earlier than expected and the last phase of the project (Joyce to the Maryland line) will be begin in mid-July. Beach Drive (and the trail from Joyce to Bingham) will be closed to all traffic, with the designated detour for pedestrians and cyclists to be the trail along Oregon Ave. Ross Drive and Ridge Road will be reopened to cars at this time. The short segment of Beach Drive from Wise Road to West Beach Drive will remain open for about six months to provide cut-through access, but this will be closed somewhere around January. Wise Road will also be closed, but it will not be rehabilitated. This final phase of the project is estimated to take about a year.

How is that trail next to Oregon Ave? From G-View it looks heavily forested, not at all suitable for two wheels except for MTBs. Oregon Avenue is not suitable either, as it has no shoulders and is very narrow with limited sightlines. At least the District thought to put all-way stops on those intersections to avoid having it turn into a speedway.

[Crickey7]

I used to ride it as a kid. It’s unsafe at speeds much above a brisk jog, with lots of roots, off camber hairpin turns and trees right next to the narrow path.

[MrTinDC]

Agree, the trail is not great there – I prefer riding on Oregon Ave.

[DCAKen]

Electronic signs in Rock Creek Park are now showing Beach Drive from Joyce Road to the DC line will be closed on July 6 as the last phase of the project starts. The short segment between Wise and West Beach Drive will remain open for a couple of months.

[DCAKen]

The latest word from DDOT is that work on rehabilitating the remaining portions of the Rock Creek Trail won’t be starting until Spring 2019.

[Jason]

Does anybody know the current ability to ride Rock Creek on weekends. I have been on it about 3 times but led by another rider so I am not familiar. I want to be able to take two friends on a 17-25 mile ride starting at say the nature center and ending there. If anybody can help with a ride map with the current construction that would be outstanding.

[viennabiker]

As of today, there is still no sign of construction on the southern section of the Trail (south of Tilden street)…except today in a minor but problematic way: a new sign instructing bicyclists to dismount.

Today, for the first time, I saw this new sign when going southbound through the Beach Drive tunnel (the long tunnel with the narrow walkway just south of the Zoo). The alternative trail that goes through the zoo and avoids the tunnel, was closed a year ago when it washed out. That alternative trail is still closed and there is no sign that repair work has begun. That trail was always closed when the zoo was closed but made it possible to avoid the tunnel when the gates were open.

Funneling all pedestrian and bicycle travel through the tunnel was never a great solution, but there wasn’t much traffic in the tunnel. Now asking bicyclists to dismount (so far, oddly enough, only one way though perhaps a sign for northbound traffic is also planned) does not seem likely to work. Bicyclists might feel they need to start using the regular traffic lanes of the tunnel (I’ve seen this done occasionally, generally on weekends by faster riders) which may be legal but will hardly be welcome by drivers.

And there is no sign that construction of the long-term solution promised (widening the trail through the tunnel and on the bridge on the south side) is in the offing.

[BTC_DC]

It seems this may finally be happening (Rock Creek Trail Rehabilitation from M St. up to the Zoo). Construction advertised on 4/19, bids due 5/20, and then likely to start 6+ months after that:

http://app.ocp.dc.gov/RUI/information/scf/solicitation_detail.asp?solicitation=DCKA-2019-B-0050

[DCAKen]

At long last….movement on getting the remaining sections of the Rock Creek Trail rebuilt!

https://twitter.com/TrailsCoalition/status/1349744431600168961

EXCITING NEWS ALERT! A construction contract has been awarded for the Rock Creek Park Multi-Use Trail Rehabilitation & Pedestrian Bridge Project! A
pre-construction public meeting is being planned
for Feb & groundbreaking is likely to happen late
Feb/early March

[secstate]

This story provides additional detail on the project and some context I wasn’t aware of, such as:

“This trail was originally a bridal path, so it was a narrow path for horses, and they converted into a bike trail back in the ’70s,” says David Cranor, a longtime blogger on the D.C. biking scene and member of the city’s bicycle advisory council. Back when the bridal path was converted for bikes, Cranor says, there were no national guidelines for how to build such a trail. “So this will bring those trails up to current standards,” he says.

https://dcist.com/story/21/01/15/rock-creek-bike-trail-revamp/

[arlcxrider]

“Bridal (sic) path”?

[Author]

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