Two projects are underway that will improve trails in the Rosslyn area, but first there will be some detours and inconvenience to deal with.
The first project is part of the 2014 Mount Vernon Trail Safety Improvement Project. NPS will be repaving the parking lot at Roosevelt Island and realigning/widening the trail there.
To ensure visitor safety, the parking lot will be closed until the project’s completion, expected to be late spring. Pedestrians will have access to the island throughout the project, and cyclists can bypass construction via a short detour on the Mount Vernon Trail.
In addition to realigning the Mount Vernon Trail, the NPS will raise the trail slightly and widen it in places. The parking lot will have new curbs and gutters for better water drainage.
Mount Vernon Trail users accessing the trail by car should use the parking lots at Daingerfield Island and Columbia Island, or consider nearby public parking options. The closest parking to Theodore Roosevelt Island is in Rosslyn, a 15-minute walk from the Island.
Back in March 2014, NPS presented a bunch of alternatives in this area, and solicited comments, but then the process kind of fisseled. They were suppossed to develop a preferred alternative the following June, complete the design that winter and start work in 2015. Oh well. Not that they have advertised it all, but it appears they have gone with Alternative 1 from that study. The final design, with the location of the Capital bikeshare station (thanks bobco85), is below.
On the south side, trees, walls and a more difficult path will discourage cyclists from cutting through the lot. The trail will cross half way down (at a pair of 45deg angles instead of 2 90deg ones) on a speed table. And then on the north side the trail will be widened. You can find photos of the detour, which started on March 1, here.
The other project is the Lynn Street Esplanade/Custis Trail improvement. Detours there start this week.
Custis Trail users - in the vicinity of N. Lynn Street and Lee Highway - will begin experiencing detours next week. Arlington County, along with Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Dominion Virginia Power, will be performing utility work; part of the Lynn Street Esplanade & Custis Trail Improvements project. Trail users are advised to be aware of changing detour signs as project utility work progresses
Below please find a list of work dates and specific detour locations. Please note - work dates are estimated and may vary.
Phase I:
Street work to be completed 3/11/17
•No trail detour
Phase II (red dotted line):
Detour East of N. Lynn Street 3/8/17 - 4/17/17
•Trail will be rerouted onto adjacent paved public driveway. Detour area will have signs and temporary trailer mounted lighting.
•Detour area has a steeper grade than current trail. Bicyclists are asked to dismount before entering and exiting the detour zone.
Phase III (yellow dotted line):
Detour at NE corner of Trail Crossing at N. Lynn Street 4/18/17 - 5/8/17
•Trail will be rerouted around work area at NE corner at N. Lynn Street; crossing will be shifted north. Detour area will have signs and temporary trailer mounted lighting.
Phase IV (solid yellow line):
Detour West of N. Lynn Street 5/9/17 – 6/1/17
•Trail will be rerouted to the south (Gateway Park) side of Lee Highway between N. Lynn Street and N. Fort Myer Drive.
•The detour route is narrower than current trail. Bicyclists are asked to slow down or dismount when pedestrians are near.
The intersection of Doom will, when this project is all complete, feature a wider trail; increased trail separation; narrower traffic lanes; curb extensions and wider curb ramps; new traffic signals including bicycle signals, and new streetlights.
The trail is currently 10' wide with a 3' buffer, but the new trail will be 16' wide with a 6' buffer. It will remove a lane of Lee Highway along on the section near the Marriott driveway.
In addition the project redesigns the block of N. Lynn Street that is south of the trail. It will create bike waiting areas, a 6' bike lane on the east side that will close a gap between existing bike lanes and the trail, new street lights and some aesthetic and pedestrian improvements.
Phase IV looks like a huge inconvenience to trail users for no apparent reason. I don't see anything about lane closures on westbound Lee Hwy to go along with the Custis detours. Will there be lane closures on the roadway also?
Converting the right lane into a temporary trail would have negligible impact on congestion; the existing street on that block is overbuilt relative to vehicle usage. Unless unpublished closures of multiple lanes allow no other option, the trail should be rerouted into the roadway to eliminate these crossings.
Posted by: scoot | March 09, 2017 at 01:44 PM
"Bicyclists are asked to dismount before entering and exiting the detour zone."
Hahahahahaha!
Posted by: Steve O | March 09, 2017 at 02:18 PM
Lee Hwy currently has 2 Westbound lanes closed (also not shown). I would assume that 1 or 2 will remain closed during Phase IV.
Also, the CaBi station at TR Island will be near the 45-degree cross-over. That was a late change NPS made.
Posted by: Henry Dunbar | March 10, 2017 at 02:42 PM
Thanks Henry. Somehow I missed that. Probably because I haven't been through there recently. (Even when I do ride through the area, it's usually to/from Key Bridge on Lynn northbound or Fort Myer southbound, so I don't use the trail segment in question.)
Posted by: scoot | March 10, 2017 at 05:21 PM