2008 CWL #6 Chesapeake Beach Railway Trail

The Chesapeake Beach Railway was built in the 1890's as a connection between the population center of Washington, DC and the resort town of Chesapeake Beach, MD. In 1899 the railway started operation from south Deanwood, where Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue meets Minnesota Avenue running north of Watts Branch then through Seat Pleasant, Upper Marlboro and Owings on its way to Chesapeake Beach. Highways, fire and the Great Depression all led to the railway being replaced by a bus by 1935. The section within DC continued its operations as the East Washington Railway until 1978.

Ironically, much of the section within Maryland - the section abandoned 70 years ago - has survived, while the short piece in DC was quickly built upon. The DC ROW was just wide enough to place a house and yard on it.  Since it parallels Watts Branch (the reason it and the WB&A* chose to utilize that valley to approach the city in the first place) and the soon-to-be-reopened Marvin Gaye Park Trail (MGPT), an alternative exists. In fact riding the MGPT, just west of Division Avenue, you can see an old abutment of the WB&A rail line.

Aside: The old WB&A line in DC was owned by Capitol Transit and thus, I'd figure, by Metro. The East Washington Railway ceased service in the 1970's. In my research I never find out why Metro twice decided not to build a line (or hold on to/acquire land for later expansion) in this area.

Anyway, Maryland plans to build a trail along the ROW (map) and in places already has. It's been acquiring land for this purpose since at least 1999.

The Chesapeake Beach Rail Trail is a potential regional multi-use trail system that will utilize the original railroad route from Washington, D.C. to Chesapeake Beach. This corridor will serve as the spine for a number of potential greenways branches that would provide access to public lands, the Patuxent River and the Chesapeake Bay. M-NCPPC has acquired portions of the corridor through the subdivision process. The trail would be owned, managed, and maintained by M-NCPPC. The Chesapeake Beach Rail Trail is being considered in Calvert and Anne Arundel counties where several segments of the 28-mile rail corridor also exist. Eleven miles of the corridor lie in Prince George’s County

The problem is they don't own all of it as M-NCCPC points out.

The entire right-of-way (ROW) for the trail has not been preserved and the property has reverted back [to] owners, however, pieces of the trail are being acquired and built. The goal is to build an entire trail along the old rail line between Washington DC and Calvert County. As properties are subdivided and comes in for development review, the developer is obligated to do this.

It was abandoned before railbanking was an option. So instead they're forcing developers to build sections as they develop parcels the trail would sit on. Construction has been, at best, piecemeal.

• A 100-foot long portion was built in Maryland Park between Crown Street and the Addison Plaza shopping center. This is just east of the DC eastern corner.
• When the Walker Mill/Ritchie Marlboro Road intersection with the Beltway was rebuilt, sidewalks were added to serve as the trail in that section.
• In September 2004, the state of Maryland committed $1.6 million for construction of the first 1.4 miles of trail. Construction for the trail was scheduled to begin in the fall of 2005 but has been pushed back to 2008.  In October, MD Senate President Thomas Miller said, " Construction is about to begin on the Chesapeake Beach Railway Trail."

During the wait for this last section, it appears it has been expanded.

Councilmen Bruce Wahl, a champion of the project since 1989, and Stewart Cumbo have obtained $3.3 million  to complete the project. The 7.7 mile Chesapeake Beach Railway Trail will connect Bay View Hills and Richfield Station

When asked about the rail trail - and the closing of the Brown Station landfill that it would pass through - in 2007, M-NCCPC replied

One barrier to completion of the trail is the County Correctional Center, not the landfill. The facility off Dille Drive includes a segment of the former railroad right-of-way south of the Kings Grant development. A route or detour around this secure site will have to be utilized to provide a continuous trail.

Near the Beltway, the Chesapeake Beach Railroad Trail is accommodated with an existing eight-foot wide sidewalk parallel to the road. This wide sidewalk provides safe pedestrian access under the Beltway and can serve as a segment of the longer planned trail. As part of the master plan process, staff can evaluate the feasibility of a separate trail bridge (or tunnel) in this area to better accommodate the master plan trail.

So what Maryland (and to a much smaller extant DC) needs to do is come up with a PLAN to match their plans. The M-NCPPC and state DNR need to put together a formal plan of how the CBRT will be built, where it will run etc...Otherwise we're going to end up with a messy, disconnected trail.

In the short term, Maryland should build the section - now a social trail - from Crown Street in Seat Pleasant to the District Boundary and DC should build the last 20 feet to the corner of Southern and Eastern, as well as a sidepath on Southern and signs and markings to connect it to the MGPT (as mentioned in this UMd Studio Report). Maryland should also build the Chesapeake Beach section.

*I'm not doing anything on the WB&A trail this year, since it's been covered twice already.

Comments

[Purple Eagle]

I wonder how they will handle crossing the Patuxant River. Following the ROW would require a trail bridge of significant scale. I am also wondering if the land managers at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary will object to a paved trail through the wildlife preserve . . it's public land, but managed for limited access with ecological research as the primary goal.

[Michael Gallagher]

Purple Eagle,
It looks like the bridge will be small and the impact would be minor since the railway bed is clearly visible on Google Earth. This trail makes perfect sense and would do a lot for Calvert Country by connecting the Patuxant River with the Chesapeake Bay in the northern part of the country.

[JMJ]

Does anybody know the current status of the Chesapeake Beach Rail Trail? As a Chesapeake Beach resident I'm very excited about the prospect of a long, paved pathway to ride my road bike on. I would be more than happy to volunteer some of my time to help with the construction. I consider cycling on the roads in the area dangerous because of the high volume of traffic and small shoulders. A pathway like the Mt. Vernon trail would be ideal.

[R.N.]

I call Cheaspeake town hall and i get "they are strating this real soon" for the past three years. I would love help in any way i could. Great history to a great town!!!