Speaking of this: Does anybody know the status of the ped/bike bridge that will be taking the ART over the CSX railroad?

Construction's been going on for 2+ years, and seems to have stalled completely over the winter.

by andrew on Mar 17, 2011 10:20 am • link • report

Yes, let's hope there's momentum in the years ahead for a continual open and public waterfront from the Douglass bridge to the new ped-friendly local 11th street bridge. No world-class city would be without a long, continuous public waterfront. Good first step, let's hope there are more that follows.

by whiteknuckled on Mar 17, 2011 10:40 am • link • report

Let's be very positive about this. This is a great first step and 10,000 times better than the gates remaining closed 100% of the time. The Navy Yard deserves some positive press for this.

Hopefully, the Navy Yard will see the demand of people all rushing in at 8:01am sharp to use the space and consider expanding the hours.

Second, as the above commenter noted a continuous trail won't be complete until the bridge over the CSX tracks is complete.

by John on Mar 17, 2011 10:49 am • link • report

(I should elaborate on my comment: I just heard last week from an unofficial source that CSX was blocking the project, and that DC didn't actually own the air rights, like they thought they did. This would be far from the first time that DC and CSX have gotten into ownership disputes)

by andrew on Mar 17, 2011 10:59 am • link • report

So the trail isn't quite continuous yet.

1. The bridge over the CSX rail is still on hold until DDOE approves the work. It turns out the area near the tracks were technically "wetlands" and the construction plowed over that, which caused DDOE to halt work. I don't know when work will restart.

2. Parts of the trail between the trail and the 11th street bridges are on-road.

3. The portion under the 11th Street bridges is closed while construction on that goes on. This means that even with the promenade open it is basically a dead end. You can enter from Yards Park but can't exit at 11th Street. So I doubt you'll see the rush at 8:01 am

4. Technically, you can't bike through Yards Park (#5 on map).

5. The bridge from Yards Park to Teague Park doesn't exist. Work should begin this spring (#4 on map).

Still, this is a positive step. I thought they'd delay until the 11th street bridge was open...and then delay some more.

by David C on Mar 17, 2011 11:05 am • link • report

andrew, I'd not heard the air rights issue. It seems a little late for CSX to bring it up. They better play nice if they want to widen the VA avenue tunnel.

by David C on Mar 17, 2011 11:07 am • link • report

@David That seems like a much more likely explanation. Like I said -- I heard that through the grapevine!

Out of curiosity, did any of the other new construction in that area (specifically, the boathouse) encroach on the wetlands as well? My recollection was that a considerable amount of soil remediation took place east of PA Avenue in preparation for the boathouse and pedestrian bridge (almost all of the "boathouse row" sites are severely polluted).

by andrew on Mar 17, 2011 11:13 am • link • report

As I understand it, the "wetlands" was north of the track - it's really an overgrown drainage ditch. So the boathouse was fine.

by David C on Mar 17, 2011 11:16 am • link • report

sort of relater to this: is there remote possibility that there ever could be pedestrian bridge across the Anacostia connecting Massachusetts Avenue SE with the Anacostia River Trail or Massachusetts on the other side of the river?

by retrostyleguy on Mar 17, 2011 12:17 pm • link • report

retrostyleguy, that has been proposed before. It's in the Anacostia waterfront initiative plan for example. One problem is that NPS wants it to be big enough to allow for the occasional car to cross - for NPS service vehicles - and residents strongly oppose that. If it happens, it'll probably have to be part of the Reservation 13 project which will extend Mass Ave to the river (possibly).

by David C on Mar 17, 2011 12:36 pm • link • report

@retrostyleguy

I believe there were a few planning documents as a part of the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative that suggested exactly that. They had several bridge alternatives, ranging from a modest car and ped bridge to a ped and bike only alternative.

There is a large gap between the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge and the East Capitol bridge - and neither one is particularly pedestrian friendly.

by Alex B. on Mar 17, 2011 12:36 pm • link • report

Could a bike lane be tacked onto the side of the CSX bridge over the river? Isn't that bridge slated for replacement anyway?

by andrew on Mar 17, 2011 12:41 pm • link • report

Great, thanks. The Anacostia Waterfront Initiative was on my list of things to read about. I'm sort of new to this subject, so this is all new territory for me.

I was just looking at the map, and it looked like it would be a good place for one.

by retrostyleguy on Mar 17, 2011 12:43 pm • link • report

andrew, I once saw a DDOT mock-up of a CSX bridge with bike path. I think it was in the AWI plan, which I can't find online - along with an alternative the bury the rail line. I noticed that they are widening that bridge right now, but not for a bike crossing. I think CSX has shown, many times before, that they do not want bikes near their tracks - so I think it is highly unlikely.

Also the mass ave bridge is called the "Middle Anacostia Crossing" in DDOT literature.

by David C on Mar 17, 2011 12:50 pm • link • report

I don't think CSX is widening the rail bridge, they are just repairing it following a derailment there several years ago that sent a few hopper cars into the river. The bridge has always been double-tracked.

I agree that CSX wouldn't agree to adding a bike/ped component to the existing bridge. I also don't think that would solve the problem of getting over the tracks - one advantage of a new Mass Ave bridge would be that it would cross both the River and the tracks, providing a new route both across the river and north/south through Anacostia Park.

by Alex B. on Mar 17, 2011 1:16 pm • link • report

No they're definitely widening it. It may still be double tracked, but the piers have been made about 8 feet wider. If you look at this shot you can see the piers sticking out on the north, but not on the south. Now the ones on the south stick out much longer.

It looks like there is room for a third track and that a third track leads down to the water on the east side. If that is the plan, I have no idea what they plan to do about the lift in the middle of the bridge. Maybe I'll go down and take some photos this evening.

I think the Mass avenue bridge would just connect to Anacostia Drive.

by David C on Mar 17, 2011 2:16 pm • link • report

I don't think that really counts as 'widening'. The bridge has always been double-tracked. After the derailment, they stepped up the repair plan, which involved essentially a complete reconstruction of the northern track. They took off the decking, rebuilt the piers, and are now putting the track back on. Once the north track is finished, I believe they'll shift all traffic to that track and do the same re-build for the south track.

If the piers to the south are sticking out as much as those to the north, that's still not enough room for a third track on either side.

There's also not much reason to add a third track, anyway - even when the VA Ave tunnel is re-built, it will still only be a two-track line.

by Alex B. on Mar 17, 2011 2:32 pm • link • report

If a Massachusetts Avenue bridge only connected to Anacostia Drive that would be a real shame...

by retrostyleguy on Mar 17, 2011 2:46 pm • link • report

I row by that bridge on almost a daily basis. From what I can tell, nothing has been done to the piers, and adding a track seems nonsensical, as there are only 2 tracks on either side of it.

In fact, I was under the impression that the bridge was found to be in an advanced state of deterioration following the derailment. As it stands, the bridge deck is incredibly close to the water level. There's barely enough room to take a kayak underneath it. I'm surprised that CSX have never had flooding issues with it.

by andrew on Mar 17, 2011 3:00 pm • link • report

The bridge piers will be wider. I don't know how that's not widening. I didn't say they were adding a third track. But let me restate "I noticed that they are reconstructing that bridge right now (which includes widening the piers, which you would need to do if you were going to add a bike crossing there), but not for a bike crossing." Happy?

by David C on Mar 17, 2011 3:01 pm • link • report

Sorry, I hear 'widening' and I think capacity.

by Alex B. on Mar 17, 2011 3:12 pm • link • report