The new Wilson Bridge bicycle/pedestrian deck is arguably the biggest bicycle project going on in the area. It'll be the farthest downstream crossing of the Potomac River possible on bicycle (According to Wikipedia "the Maryland Transportation Authority may transport bicycles for a fee as a courtesy if manpower and time are available" across the Nice Memorial Bridge, but that's not the same - it's also not a courtesy if there's a fee).
Anyway, I was looking at the Maryland side and I was surprised by the design. The bike lane will be on the north side of the bridge, but on Rosalie Island (On the Maryland side) they're going to build an extensive deck to cross over the Beltway, and connect to the south side. That's great. It will connect the WB to a park and National Harbor.
Concurrent with the reconstruction of the I-295 Interchange, Rosalie Island would be reconstructed to provide park amenities on the portion of the island south of the widened Beltway, a new deckover structure with landscaping as a gateway to Maryland and Prince George's County, and a connection from this deckover structure to the pedestrian/bicycle lane along the north edge of the Potomac River Bridge. A separate bridge approximately 1,700 feet in length would connect the southern portion of Rosalie Island with the mainland, providing access for bicyclists and pedestrians.
And the deck itself is going to be wide and parklike, which is pretty cool (see photo). But building a bridge over the beltway, that doesn't allow access to both sides seems wasteful.
The trail will connect downstream to National Harbor, and then continue under the National Harbor Access roads to Oxon Hill Road outside the beltway, which is good. But it won't provide a connection upstream along I-295 (specifically along "Ramp M") to the District. I don't know if this was for environmental reasons ("The island's north side will be preserved in its natural environment"), budgetary ones, or a little of both; but I think it's an oversight. A trail heading north could connect to the Oxon Hill Trail and to another along the Shepard Parkway.
I'm sensitive to environmental concerns, but we've built trails in environmentally protected areas before and we can do it safely. Besides, it's disingenuous to say that a 12 lane highway bridge built through Rosalie Island is OK, but adding a 12 foot (heck, I'd take 10) bike path pushes you over the tipping point. And I can say the same thing about the budget. "$2.5 billion for a bridge I could do, but $2.51 billion - now that's just crazy." I don't think so.
In the second picture, the trail is visible as the white line along the bottom of the image.
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