The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) are hosting a public meeting on the Long Bridge Project's EIS. At this one they will seek public review and comment on the alternatives to make it out of the latest screening as part of the Draft EIS. The final EIS is to be completed next year.
FRA and DDOT are making plans to replace the Long Bridge, which ideally would be done in conjunction with a bike facility connecting Long Bridge Park, the Mt Vernon Trail, the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail and downtown SW DC, but that isn't exactly part of the plan. As noted in the recently completed purpose and needs statement:
Although not part of the Proposed Action’s Purpose and Need, the Long Bridge Project will explore the potential opportunity to accommodate connections that follow the trajectory of the Long Bridge Corridor to the pedestrian and bicycle network. The feasibility of this opportunity will be assessed as the Project progresses, and will consider whether a path can be designed to be consistent with railroad operator plans and pursuant to railroad safety practices. Future efforts to accommodate connections to the pedestrian and bicycle network may be advanced as part of the Project, or as part of a separate project(s) sponsored by independent entities.
As WABA noted after the draft of this came out
The Long Bridge may be the only blank canvas for a Potomac crossing that the region considers for the next fifty years in this location.
With the scale of the opportunity in mind, we believe that the draft Purpose and Need for the Long Bridge Study is too narrowly focussed on the needs of freight and passenger rail. Indeed, expanding rail capacity, reliability and redundancy are essential to meet the growing demands of a 22nd century rail system. Yet, the regional trail network faces similar challenges to realize long term connectivity plans. Alongside rail improvements, expanding the capacity, redundancy, and regional connectivity of the trail network should be a core element of the study’s purpose and need statement and selection criteria. A Long Bridge replacement without a high-quality trail is a wasted, once-in-a-century, opportunity.
Of the eight Potomac River bridges that connect Virginia into downtown DC,...not one fully satisfies today’s trail standards for width, sight distances or protection from traffic.
The good news is that of the 6 concepts to make it through the Level 1 public screening process (excluding the No Build), three include the Bike/ped path. The meeting tomorrow should present the results of the level 2 screening and we'll see what is still being considered. Concepts that make it through Level 2 Concept Screening will be refined and developed as alternatives for evaluation in the EIS.
Evaluation will use a more detailed set of quantitative and qualitative criteria to assess which concepts best meet Purpose and Need.
Level 2 evaluation will also look at:
– Constructability
– Railroad operations efficiency and effectiveness
– Cost (order of magnitude)
– Preliminary environmental effects considerations
– Safety
It would be pretty amazing if a bike facility were included through the length of the corridor shown in the image above, with numerous connections to the relevant facilities along the way (Ohio Drive, Maine Ave, L'Enfant VRE, Federal Center Metro, 12th, 7th, 3rd, etc..). Maybe it could later be connected to the Virginia Avenue sidepath that will be built as part of the close out of the Virginia Avenue Tunnel project in 2018.
WHEN: Thursday, December 14, 2017
- Open House format from 4PM to 7PM
- Formal presentations at 4:30PM and 6:00PM (same presentation at both times)
WHERE: DCRA Building, Room E200, 1100 4th St. SW, Washington, DC 20024.
Room E200 is located on the second floor of the DCRA building adjacent to the elevators. Bring an ID to show at the entrance in order to access the building.
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