New I-66 Trail

[consularrider]

Strava’s route planning seems to think the new I-66 trail is open west of the Vienna Metro. I haven’t seen any announcement to that effect. Can anyone comment?

[consularrider]

Nope not open yet. A couple fences were down at Blake St and Patten Dr allowing access, but the next still blocked the trail. Found a VDOT presentation to FABB which gave projected opening for some sections in mid-May

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[consularrider]

E-mail today from FABB included:

I-66 Parallel Trail Ribbon-Cutting May 17
On Wednesday, May 17 at 11am VDOT will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the I-66 Parallel Trail. Approximately 5 miles of the trail will be open. FABB was a strong advocate for this trail over many years and we’re excited that this first phase will soon be open. Cyclists are encouraged to ride to the ceremony to be held at the Vienna Metro Station N parking lot starting at 11am. After the brief ceremony VDOT staff and FABB will lead a short ride east to Cedar Lane and back. Cyclists can then explore other sections of the trail open at that time.

Eventually 16 miles of trail will be completed by the I-66 contractor and 7 miles by Fairfax County and others. The I-66 contractor portion will be completed in August of this year. Other sections will open over the next couple of years. FABB is advocating that those sections be completed as soon as possible. Please respect any trail closed signs. See more about the trail portion of I-66 project. See the draft trail status map we compiled after our project briefing from VDOT.

[secstate]

Thanks — this is helpful. I was confused about the status of the trail and had expected it to open along with the new express lanes. I guess it will continue to be a patchwork for a while.

Of all the bike orgs and blogs in the area, FABB’s website is among the most useful. (Not sure what happened to WashCycle but that has also been a true gem).

[lordofthemark]

@consularrider 225787 wrote:

E-mail today from FABB included:

I-66 Parallel Trail Ribbon-Cutting May 17
On Wednesday, May 17 at 11am VDOT will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the I-66 Parallel Trail. Approximately 5 miles of the trail will be open. FABB was a strong advocate for this trail over many years and we’re excited that this first phase will soon be open. Cyclists are encouraged to ride to the ceremony to be held at the Vienna Metro Station N parking lot starting at 11am. After the brief ceremony VDOT staff and FABB will lead a short ride east to Cedar Lane and back. Cyclists can then explore other sections of the trail open at that time.

Eventually 16 miles of trail will be completed by the I-66 contractor and 7 miles by Fairfax County and others. The I-66 contractor portion will be completed in August of this year. Other sections will open over the next couple of years. FABB is advocating that those sections be completed as soon as possible. Please respect any trail closed signs. See more about the trail portion of I-66 project. See the draft trail status map we compiled after our project briefing from VDOT.

I am eager to ride it, given the controversy about it, and the belief by some fellow bike advocates that it will be a huge disappointment with few riders. My understanding from the old debate (not particularly changed by viewing the VDOT presentation to FABB a month ago) is that some parts will be terrible, some will be okay, few walkers or runners or casual riders will use it, it will be quite useful for transportation cyclists, and will be used by some recreational cyclists. But I need to try it myself and explore its utility for particular destinations.

[lordofthemark]

@secstate 225788 wrote:

Thanks — this is helpful. I was confused about the status of the trail and had expected it to open along with the new express lanes. I guess it will continue to be a patchwork for a while.

Of all the bike orgs and blogs in the area, FABB’s website is among the most useful. (Not sure what happened to WashCycle but that has also been a true gem).

WashCycle has an active twitter account.

[secstate]

@lordofthemark 225791 wrote:

WashCycle has an active twitter account.

Noted, thanks! I will resist opining on the relative merits of Twitter vs blogs, but I do hope some of the archive-worthy, long-form posts return.

[mstone]

@secstate 225788 wrote:

Thanks — this is helpful. I was confused about the status of the trail and had expected it to open along with the new express lanes. I guess it will continue to be a patchwork for a while.

wait, you thought VDOT was going to prioritize finishing a trail they didn’t want to do in the first place?

[lordofthemark]

The first half (disconnected segments, not like the eastern or western half) of the trail opened today. Our own LeslieT attended the ribbon cutting.

Given the controversy, I am eager to see some ride reports. Ideally with some bitter complaints, and some heated disagreement with those.

Have at it.

[mstone]

@lordofthemark 225835 wrote:

Given the controversy, I am eager to see some ride reports

I tried yesterday, found nothing but smooth empty pavement and a “sidewalk closed” sign by 50 off fairfax farms road. The map says it’s green, but also indicates that the trail goes through a house so it’s maybe not trustworthy. I’ll maybe try again today to see if there’s access off sarah harper.

[Serdar]

Has anyone ridden the total length of this new trail? I mean the parts of the trail that is open to use. I will appreciate Strava or RWGPS route.

[bikesnick]

@Serdar 225841 wrote:

Has anyone ridden the total length of this new trail? I mean the parts of the trail that is open to use. I will appreciate Strava or RWGPS route.

Yes, I rode it this afternoon, from Cedar Lane to Rte 123 (Chain Bridge Rd) and back. The trail is very smooth, and I saw only a handful of cyclists. The noise and fumes from the cars/trucks were not that bad, but it was a cool and breezy day. The barricade is higher than expected, but the parts of the trail above the traffic were definitely nicer.
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[mstone]

@mstone 225840 wrote:

I tried yesterday, found nothing but smooth empty pavement and a “sidewalk closed” sign by 50 off fairfax farms road. The map says it’s green, but also indicates that the trail goes through a house so it’s maybe not trustworthy. I’ll maybe try again today to see if there’s access off sarah harper.

The access at sarah harper is an existing trail which will eventually be the connection from waples mill. It’s maintained to the usual standards of fairfax county MUPs.

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Here’s a shot from the bridge at waples mills:

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On the left is the 66 trail, on the right is the existing trail.

At least they’re consistent, and have taken care of the important things:

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AFAICT that’s a legally meaningless sign that manages to be both obnoxious and useless–the possibility of a sign that imparts actual information (like, “blind intersection” or “watch for bicycle traffic coming from the left”) is apparently inconceivable. FWIW, if you stop for the sign you still can’t see approaching traffic. The real solution would have been a trail design that cared to provide sightlines, but there are some high-priced homes on the other side of the wall and we certainly wouldn’t want to prioritize safety over NIMBYs.

[loki]

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[lordofthemark]

@loki 225876 wrote:

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Thanks. Bottom line, I might as well do other “bucket list” rides, and wait for more progress before exploring this trail.

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