Last summer, VDOT announced that they were planning to expand the 495 Express Lanes to the American Legion Bridge, where they would eventually connect to one Maryland is proposing. Yesterday they announced a deal to do so. Since the summer they've been working on the Environmental Assessment, which should be ready soon according to the schedule laid out in June. Setting aside the wisdom of expanding the Beltway, what opportunities could such a project create for cyclists?
Unsurprisingly, the website doesn't mention bicycling or pedestrians at all, but one of the public comments from June does. That person asks about a shared-use path on the ALB, to which VDOT replies:
VDOT is coordinating with Maryland, which is looking at a variety of design options for its portion of I-495 and the American Legion Bridge.
which is not particularly confidence building.
But despite the ALB which Virginia can punt to Maryland, there are quite a few bike facilities in the Fairfax County Bike Plan for this area, and the project should address many if not all of them. I mean it might not, but it should. The project area extends along 495 from Dolley Madison Blvd/123 to the ALB and along the Dulles Toll/Access Road from Spring Hill Road outside the Beltway to Dolley Madison inside of it. If they aren't going to do these things in conjunction with this major project, when will they.
On the north side, there are four facilities in the bike plan that pass through the study area.
Most notable is the shared-use path the commenter asked about. This project should build the path with in the project area and all the way along the George Washington Parkway at least to Dead Run, where the NPS study proposed a crossing of the Parkway connecting to Heather Brook Drive. That's not in the bike plan, but it should be. If not, then it should be extended to Turkey Run Park. In the short term, so that it's not a dead-end, it could pass under the bridge to Live Oak Drive creating a new critical connection. That's not explicitly in the bike plan but should be. The trail could replace the current Potomac Heritage Trail in the area.
Fairfax County Bike Plan map for north 495
The bike plan also puts sharrows on Balls Hill and Live Oak Drive north of Georgetown Pike (we can do better, especially if the Live Oaks Drive Bridge needs to be rebuilt); bike lanes on Balls Hill south of the Pike; and a striped shoulder on Old Dominion Drive. Again we can do better if the Old Dominin Drive Bridge is replaced. [Old Dominion Drive is the ROW of the old W&OD railroad, BTW]
Fairfax County Bike Plan map for Tysons area
In the Tysons area, the projects from the bike plan area much bigger. There's a pair of bridges over the Beltway at Jones Branch Road - but that's already under construction (the new bridge/road will include on-street bike lanes in each direction and an 8- to 12-foot-wide lighted sidewalks)
There's also a shared use path along Dolley Madison and a shared use path from Freddie Mac Center, over the Dulles Toll and Access Roads/267 to Northwyck Court. The path bridge over 267 is obviously the big ticket item.
I don't see any comment opportunities right now, but bike advocates should be ready to make their case for these items when the EA comes out.
Good ideas. I would argue for retaining the current portion of the Potomac Heritage Trail as a hiking trail, and making your proposed route a separate biking (or multi-use, really) trail.
Posted by: Purple Eagle | January 31, 2019 at 09:30 AM
In "There's a pair of bridges over the Beltway at Jones Bridge Road", that should say Jones Branch Road. And "the projects from the bike plan area lot bigger" should say "the projects from the bike plan are a lot bigger".
Posted by: Will Strang | February 04, 2019 at 10:30 AM