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The existing trail on Mt Vernon Memorial Highway is in terrible shape, and this project does not repair it. As you mention, the project is about connecting the gaps. Maintenance is a separate battle to be waged at a later date.

Speaking of later dates, my understanding was that the MV Memorial Hwy project lost its funding when Virginia agreed to give WMATA $154 million. Hope I'm wrong about that.

I would love to see the northern extension built. First read about the plan over 10 years ago and it's disappointing that no progress has been made.

I'd say that even worse than no progress, it's actually moved backwards - since it was pulled from the paved trails plan. But we should work to get the Pimmit Run section into the LRTP.

I've done a lot of hiking over the years along Pimmet where the blue line is. It's hard to imagine any sort of paved trail there. The existing hiking trail is hilly, eroded, and has lower portions prone to flooding. I'm no engineer, but it's hard to imagine that not being incredibly expensive and involving a lot of earth moving and heavy equipment.

They lay it all out in the feasibility study. Estimated price was $556,650.

Which is surprising considering the 500-ft boardwalk and culverts/bridges mentioned as needed, as well as the environmental analyses. But it's right there in Appendix C.

I'm ambivalent. It would be nice if more people could experience that area, which feels more like you're along a mountain stream than inside the beltway, through an improved trail, but there are challenges, as the report notes. And a northern connection is certainly needed somewhere, whether along Pimmit or elsewhere.

Now that Route 1 south of Fort Belvoir has been widened, closing the gap will be welcome. However, the MV path both north and south of historic Mount Vernon are not in good shape. The path between historic Mount Vernon and Route 1 is marginal for cycling, and most riders prefer the shoulder, even though it's quite narrow for a road with a 45 mph speed limit.

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