The Connection newspaper has a run-down of 9 Arlington road and trail projects that will break ground this spring and summer and many of them are relevant to cyclists, perhaps most notably phase 2 of the Washington Boulevard Trail.
Phase 2 of the Washington Boulevard Trail project will construct a 10’ wide, paved bicycle and pedestrian trail along the west side of Washington Boulevard (VA Route 27). The new trail section will link with the Phase 1 trail section, which was built between Arlington Boulevard and Walter Reed Drive. The trail will primarily be located within the highway right-of-way but will also pass through the property of the U.S. Navy Supply Facility and Arlington County’s Towers Park. Access to the public streets will be provided at Walter Reed Drive, 6th Street, 9th Street and South Rolfe Street.
This section - in yellow and red above - had to be redesigned (and thus delayed) numerous times to appease neighbors over the loss of trees, but they were finally able to get a design that works. The original design had a 10' wide trail separated from the road by a 1.5' wide concrete barrier, 2' wide paved buffer and a 10' shoulder while removing 198 trees. Instead they're building a 10' wide trail separated from the road by a 2.5’ wide curb and gutter and a 5’ wide landscaped buffer which only removes 84 trees of which nearly a third are invasive or dead.
In addition they're going to remove invasion species and plant trees and shrubs.
But wait, there's more.
This spring, work will also begin on a section of the Columbia Pike Bike Boulevard on 9th St. S. from S. Wayne St. to S. Highland St.
Curb extensions and ADA curb ramps are coming to four intersections along 9th Street South. New signage will mark bike lanes along the nearby roads.
This June, in an effort ot improve Cherrydale’s “Five Points” intersection, bike lanes will be added to Military Road and N. Quincy Street
- The addition of a southbound bike lane along Military Road, extending from Old Dominion Drive to Vacation Lane
- The addition of a northbound bike lane along N. Quincy Street, extending from 21st Street N. to Lee Highway
- The addition of an eastbound bike lane along Lee Highway, extending from N. Quincy Street to N. Pollard Street
In late summer, early fall the Carlin Springs Bridge over George Mason Drive will be demolished and replaced. The new Bridge will have bike lanes on Carlin Springs Road.
Finally there's the Long Bridge Drive Utility Undergrounding and Roadway Realignment. Phase 2 of that starts in 2017 and it will extend the bike lanes along Long Bridge Drive to Boundary Channel Drive.
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