Arlington held a ground breaking ceremony for the multi-use trail linking the popular Washington & Old Dominion and Four Mile Run trails.
The planned route will eliminate nearly a mile of on-street riding and difficult road crossings, offering a safer, more direct path along Four Mile Run for walkers, runners and cyclists.
The mostly flat route will run between Arlington and the City of Alexandria, featuring a convenient path under Shirley Highway (I-395) and West Glebe Road. With 3,000 feet of new trail, the connection will complete the 17-mile “Arlington Loop” of trails and offer access to the area’s lively business and commercial districts, including direct links to Shirlington and the Potomac Yard South tract, as well as connections to Crystal City, Pentagon City, Old Town Alexandria, Columbia Pike and even Ballston.
Congressman Jim Moran and members of the city council's of Arlington and Alexandria were there. As was Andy Clarke, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists to present Arlington with their Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Community Award.
The work will done concurrent with a sewage main and enhancing the surrounding Four Mile Run recreational area with landscaping of the stream bank. Construction is expected to be completed by March 2009.
On an unrelated subject, I was biking home from the ceremony and went from the Four Mile Run Trail to Army Navy Drive via Troy Street, 26th and 28th (as I usually do). There's 
a side path along Troy and the north end of it was closed, temporarily I thought, for construction of a condo. The detour sign to the left makes it seem temporary. But I noticed the condo was finished so I wondered if the trail was. And in a way the trail was finished. A fence was built and the trail dead ends. It doesn't appear that any effort will be made to reconnect it.
I blogged about this too and took a few photographs.
http://www.yurasko.net/wfy/2007/10/four-mile-run-trail-groundbreaking.html
Posted by: WFY | November 17, 2007 at 07:48 AM