Work to begin next month on W&OD and Custis Trail Safety Improvements

Starting in early September, work will begin on Phase 2 of the W&OD Trail Safety Improvements and on the Custis Trail Safety Improvements project. 

The first one I've covered before.

This project will provide safety improvements at three intersections along the W&OD Trail near South Four Mile Run Drive, including South George Mason Drive, the signalized entrance to Barcroft Sports Complex and South Oakland Street.

You can read more about the project here, and it doesn't look like much has changed since I last reported on this in March, except that the contract for the work has been awarded.

The Custis project will also improve safety at three spots and I don't think I've mentioned it before.

Custis Trail Safety Improvements

 

Location

The project improves three intersections along the Custis Trail, including trail crossings adjacent to Lee Highway at North Scott Street, at North Quinn Street and at the western side of North Oak Street. The eastern side of the trail crossing at North Oak Street will be addressed with the Lynn Street Esplanade & Custis Trail Improvements project.

View Map

Status

Construction

• Plans are complete
• Summer 2014-spring 2016 – Design
• Winter 2017 - Bidding process
• Spring/summer 2017 - Contract awarded
• Early September 2017 - Construction begins
• Summer 2018 - Anticipated project completion

About the Project

The project will implement recommendations made in the Arlington County Shared-Use Trail Study that was completed in 2010. The project proposes safety improvements at three intersections along the Custis Trail, including the trail crossing at the intersection of Lee Highway and North Oak Street (west side), Lee Highway and North Quinn Street, and Lee Highway and North Scott Street. Specific improvements include:

• Lane reconfiguration at N. Quinn Street and N. Scott Street
• Trail widening
• Curb extensions to reduce trail crossing distances
• Wider, ADA-compliant curb ramps
• Increased trail separation from Lee Highway
• High visibility crosswalks

The 30% design should give a good idea of what the intersections will look like when done. Below is North Scott Street.

And North Quinn

And North Oak

The last one refers readers to the Lynn Street Esplanade Project (They misspelled Lynn, which makes me happy since I just noticed a post where I misspelled Rosslyn). That project isn't planned to start until the spring, but it will widen the trail from N. Oak all the way to N. Lynn

The wider trail and shorter crossing distances is going to be nice. 

Comments

[Allen Muchnick]

Why did it take seven years to award contracts to reconstruct a handful of sidepath/roadway intersections, after a trail safety study, which recommended these specific improvements, was completed in 2010? Furthermore, these unsafe Custis Trail crossings have been a known hazard for the past 35 years, and the infamous Intersection of Doom still lacks a grade-separated trail crossing. This clearly demonstrates the low priority of trail safety in Arlington County, which seeks to be designated a Gold-Level Bicycle Friendly Community.