New pinch point on MVT under Wilson Bridge

[paulg]

Brad from the Potomac Crossing Consultants called me back on Friday (same day as my email to them) and after I didn’t respond to him he called me again today, which is good service in my opinion.

He said the utility pole in question that causes the pinch point is only temporary and should be gone within two weeks. Which is great news!

The completion of the final asphalt to the trail under the bridge, which should iron out all the bumps and steps, will be done in mid May he says, so we are nearing the end of the construction.

He noted that the trail will have anti vehicle bollards, which I know us bikers don’t like but it’s to stop cars from getting under the bridge, which poses a security risk to the bridge. Apparently TSA mandated it.

I’m looking forward to seeing it all completed.

Paul G

[gagd]

Nice post. I commute 3 or 4 days a week along the MVT and the section under the bridge is a bit of a lottery. Looking forward to completion.

[creadinger]

@paulg 18658 wrote:

He said the utility pole in question that causes the pinch point is only temporary and should be gone within two weeks.

Has the pole been removed yet? It’s been 2 weeks. I saw that it was still there Friday.

[Rootchopper]

The pole is still there as of this evening.

[PotomacCyclist]

Construction projects almost never seem to meet their deadlines and schedules.

[paulg]

So the pinch point is gone, took a little longer than 2 weeks but they got there eventually. The utility pole must have been removed yesterday and there is now a steel plate (be careful in the wet here) covering the hole. I am hoping that the final surfacing in this area under the bridge will be done soon. I see the contractor’s laydown area at the Jones Point Park job is being cleared up which is a good sign that things are wrapping up.

I still don’t like the bollards on the south side of the bridge and have a horrible feeling that we’ll be seeing some on this side too.

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[paulg]

I think this time they’ve gone too far.

This morning on the MVT at the North side of the Wilson Bridge the ‘new’ side trail that recently had the utility pole removed (see earlier posts) was blocked so they could install yet more truck stopping bollards. So they moved the utility pole that was IN THE MIDDLE of the trail and then installed bollards that are IN THE MIDDLE of the trail. Very annoying.

So the reroute was along the road like the good old days but I can only assume in a vague attempt to block the trail from vehicle traffic the contractor parked the excavator with the boom forming an arch over the trail, and yes they required us to ride underneath with no other way around! I haven’t checked the OSHA regs but that doesn’t seem right to me.

Here are a couple of pictures of another crazy reroute.

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[Arlingtonrider]

Apparently a cyclist hit and was injured by a bollard in Alexandria late yesterday. See today’s http://www.thewashcycle.com. Has anyone heard anything about the cyclist who apparently hit the one near Rosslyn and was in critical condition? How many more times does this have to happen???

On a more positive note, Randy Swart of the Arlington BAC put some nice hi-viz yellow paint on the cut-off bollard along S. Walter Reed Drive near Barcroft Park. It’s now much more visible. Many thanks, Randy.

[KLizotte]

I don’t understand why they are putting in bollards for the trail since it is my understanding that the area under the bridge is going to be used for special event car parking(!). If that is so, then bollards are silly if terrorism is the main concern.

I’d rather take my chances with the occasional idiotic car driver on the trail than having bollards permanently in the way.

[rcannon100]

From a comment on WASHCYCLE

I would encourage anyone who believes that these bollards are unnecessary and potential dangerous to contact VDOT – Mr. Garrett Moore

Garrett.Moore@VDOT.Virginia.gov

I’ve already written numerous emails explaining that all they’ve really done is provided a predictable location for bicycle accidents, and thus have actually made the path LESS safe than it was before.

There’s a lot more detail here, but if anyone is really interested in sending VDOT a message, email me @ Cricket2308@hotmail.com and I can provide you some of the issues I raised and the responsed I received.

[dbb]

Took a ride down there this morning to observe the wonderfulness of the bollards. It is always a pleasure to see how cyclists are so evidently an afterthought.

I spoke with a gent who indicated his firm installed the bollards and he said the black (stealth) ones would get some reflective bands. If the folks at VDOT really can justify putting obstacles at the base of a long slope (from Washington Street) and at a turn, it would have been nice to install a light shining on the bollard location to draw attention to the risk before the bollards were installed.

The interim solution of lights sitting on the bollard is a nice touch!

The MVT bollards leave about 44 inches of clear space

Once you get under the bridge, the lack of consideration for the cyclists continues. Up on the sidewalk dodge the bollards and poles near the sidewalk and then back to the roadway. That is what I would have asked for.

[bobco85]

So it looks like the bollards on the north side of the bridge have no lights, but they thought black was such a great choice for color (it is thinning, maybe to make cyclists think they weren’t so big?). I hate that the south side has 3 that are off-center. I’d rather there be only one (if any) in the middle where the two ways would be divided. This makes me think of the mid-lane bollards along the Bluemont Junction trail (where it crosses N Emerson St and the east side of where it crosses N Kensington St).

[Rootchopper]

A sign on a chain link fence says that Jones Point Park will officially open July 5. So we can hope that at least the construction is over for now. There was new work at the top of the ramp leading down to the bollards on the south side of the bridge. This work involved the pavers and perhaps the curb cut where the MVT intersects the Washington Street Bridge deck. The construction crew had signs and cone up guiding trail users away from the work zone. There didn’t seem to be any on the ramp so southbound trail users were left in an awkward situation. Pretty much par for the course for this construction crew. I couldn’t tell what they were doing. Maybe they were installing some more bollards or some razor wire.

[eminva]

Thanks dbb, a picture speaks a thousand words. Just bad in every conceivable way. What were they thinking? Guess they weren’t thinking. In that last photo, what is the point of the bollard all the way to the right? It is almost in the grass.

But hey, it’s not like anyone ever uses the MVT or anything.

Liz

[MV Clyde]

I rode through there this morning. I was going north so the detour had me cross Washington Street and ride up the sidewalk on the other side. On my way back, I crossed under the bridge and rode up the road by the apartments and turned south on the MVT. The worker moved the cones so I could continue. The north-bound detour was totally unnecessary except for people that wanted to stay on the Washington Street sidewalk. For MVT riders, all they had to do was direct people down the road instead of the trail next to the bridge. I felt bad for the worker that was enforcing the detour. I’m sure he got an earful from many people today.

[Author]

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