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There is currently (well an hour ago) a detour on the MV Trail side of the IoD where there was a longer detour a few weeks ago. Unless I missed the correct way to do things, it requires one to go over the curb.

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@ian74 162233 wrote:

As of this early this morning, a fence was erected across the segment of the rock creek trail that passes through the volleyball courts by the Lincoln Memorial. I assume it is for the 4th of July nonsense, but it was quite a surprise for me and Trey as there was no sign saying anything about the trail being closed. We had to ride up the hill through the grass and get on the sidewalk to pass by the fence. I’m not sure if it is still up or not. In past years I happen to recall there being an opening for people using the trail.

Yes, indeed they always left a hole until the 4th.

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It also states on the top of their Yelp page that it is closed.

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@Starduster 161849 wrote:

They appear to live! Have a website: http://www.trailsendcycling.com/ Appears current.

They *do* say they are closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

The sign was taken down and it says For Rent or something similar.

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@KWL 161693 wrote:

Some appear to think the detour at the IOD is still in use. A true 3 inch missed connection. I regret my reaction was not very Dirt-like.

It seems odd since they covered the asphalt in that section, but I have seen several people using it. That detour road has been there for years and IIRC was used before the current route was built.

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A blog post about the trail http://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/06/16/virginia-dot-hopes-people-will-enjoy-bicycling-next-to-a-noisy-exhaust-choked-freeway/.

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@Steve O 161719 wrote:

The Washcycle found this archived WaPo article about the Custis when it opened in 1982.

There are banked turns on the Custis? They can’t be too steeply banked.

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@DrP 161707 wrote:

That one was removed a while* ago.

*While can be anywhere from 3 months to a year because at some point it is no longer a new thing.

I thought so too. That one always caused me anguish heading downhill because it was somewhat hard to see around the corner and avoid pedestrians who could be on either side of the bollard. Removing it was a big improvement.

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@scoot 161695 wrote:

Is that right? If highway interchanges are the only access points, this trail will be even worse than I thought. I’ll have to look more thoroughly at the design. I do know that the interchanges are anywhere from one to five miles apart. The longest gap between exits is from 29-Centreville to Sudley Road, about five miles.

Note too: the interchanges are all with arterials, and most of these arterials are themselves horribly hostile to bicycles and pedestrians. Trail connections to lower-volume streets that bridge over the highway without an interchange are desperately needed. Not to mention direct access into the neighborhoods and business districts that are near the trail.

Honestly, the Custis/W&OD from about McCoy Park to EFC is a 90% perfect example of how one can design a trail along a freeway ROW that offers a pleasant experience for almost all types of non-motorized users and is accessible to the communities it serves. The flaws of Custis/W&OD that we often complain about don’t begin to compare to the enormous problems with this asinine proposal.

How did Arlington successfully connect this trail into all of the neighborhoods it passes through? Perhaps it was easier because the highway took out so many homes that a lot of streets were left “one-sided”?

Isn’t that the truth! I remember at the time that path was created that there was much criticism that it was designed by highway engineers and was not designed with making it easy for cyclists. Going from the W&OD to Rosslyn is a fairly large drop in elevation yet the engineers managed to make all but the last part appear to be going uphill. :p

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@bobco85 161669 wrote:

I understand that flexposts, if used, should have a decent amount of room around them so that folks with wider/longer bicycles/trailers/etc. can easily pass. I also think they should only be used at places of entry/exit (looking at you, unnecessary flexpost on the side of the Custis/MVT bridge over I-66 in Rosslyn).

I am not sure which bridge you are referring to, but if it is the one at the start of the bridge after you pass the newly reconstructed trail at the Roosevelt Island parking lot, it isn’t there anymore.

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Article in Greater Greater Washington https://ggwash.org/view/63735/a-new-bike-trail-will-basically-run-along-the-shoulder-of-i-66

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I have been wandering around the website from the original post in this thread. Is there something that discusses or illustrates what happens to the bikepath at vehicular entrances/exits to I-66?

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@DrP 161302 wrote:

I would guess that is because they are planning on re-doing the whole corner later this year. See http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?11661-Upcoming-Custis-Detours-in-Rosslyn&p=156273#post156273

I hope so. IMO, they (and it probably is a different “they”) did a great job between that section and Trollheim by the TRI. The only problem is that I just don’t trust the cars to stop where the path crosses between the two sections of the parking lot. OTOH removing the two 90-degree corners is an immense improvement.

Edit: For only about the fourth time in 147 posts I remembered to answer the anti-robot question before posting. (I belong to another forum where I post a lot more often that uses the same software but hasn’t implemented that robot test, so I just forget. It would be entertaining if those questions changed every once in a while. )

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Although a bit worse for wear, the part of the MVT between the IOD and the Roosevelt Island parking lot was open about an hour and a half ago.

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I live in SW on 4th and ride that stretch almost every day. It has truly become an adventure. I wonder what it will be like when construction of Phase 2 (the southern part) starts.

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