Rock Creek Park Trail bridge over Veirs Mill Road

Rock Creek Park Trail bridge over Veirs Mill Road, originally uploaded by volcrano.

I rode this yesterday, and it is very nice. It curves as it goes across so that there is no 90 deg turns. The north side of the bridge is higher than the south and that comes off effortlessly. There's lights and art too. The little landscaping area in the foreground reminds me of Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. Mmmm Guinness.

But the trail just beyond this was too iced over to ride. And it snowed weeks ago.

Comments

[Richard Layman]

I've been meaning to get a shot of this for awhile. Thanks.

[NeilB]

I thought this wasn't supposed to be done until the end of 2011. Was I confused?

[washcycle]

I was. At one point they said Oct 2010. Then they said 2011. So I got mixed up and said Oct 2011. Sorry.

[Freshyill]

I love the way this bridge looks. I actually almost bought a house very close to here, on Dewey Road. The backyard actually went right into the park, and the trail was right there. Would have been nice, but the house just wasn't big enough.

[antibozo]

This bridge is quite beautiful--it's a shame the Rock Creek Trail from the bridge up to Baltimore Road is in such substandard condition. It's typically muddy for days after a rain because of poor drainage, and the lower stretch has these useless drains crossing it every so often that do nothing to drain, but do manage to interrupt the smoothness of the not-very-smooth pavement.

It's a lower priority than cleaning up the trail down around the Zoo, but I wish they would fix this section up someday.

[washcycle]

Riding it on Saturday, I was cursing those drains.

[NeilB]

Washcycle - don't sweat it. I'm glad it's open sooner than I thought it would be and I'll have to give it a try soon.

[Drew]

Washcycle, you misspelled Veirs again.

antibozo is right about the trail's drainage issues -- after rainstorms those huge puddles are a major headache. And the drains may have worked once, but now they appear to be clogged, in addition to being a nuisance to ride over. Surely there must be a better solution.

[Jack]

Freshyill, did you avoid buying that house near the trail because of all the crime that these trails induce? Every trail opponent I've ever talked to tells me they are full of criminals on their way to rob them, so I know it's true.

I looked it up once that Veirs is actually spelled both ways in the county, depending on the application. The Veirs Mill elementary school intentionally changed their name recently to follow the rule "i before e". I was shocked (what's next, removing the silent 'c' from Connecticut Avenue?) until I learned that even the Veirs/Viers family couldn't seem to be consistent.

[Cathie Schumaker]

I recently biked the trail and the bridge over Veirs Mill Road is fabulous. I would like to send a word of thanks to the advocacy group and the politicians who supported the project. Great use of tax money in my opinion.