DRAFT

Interstate Bicycle Route 1 Proposed Realignment

The current status of Interstate Bicycle Route One (IBR 1) is two fold. On one hand there are some great bicycle facilities and scenery on IBR 1, and on the other there are bridge closures, military base closures, and even more construction. The atmosphere of Northern Virginia is changing with each new development and every new road. These new developments and roadways have given the opportunity for the Northern Virginia District Office of Transportation Planning (NOVA TP) to review IBR 1 and the IBR 1 corridor for a realignment of Interstate Bicycle Route 1.

Analyzing Interstate Bicycle Route 1 gave NOVA TP a chance to visit the entire length through Arlington, Fairfax, PrinceWilliamCounties, and the City of Alexandria. Photographs were taken and notes were made of all the details included in IBR 1. A report was first assembled to give the current status of IBR 1. This second report is to analyze the faults of IBR 1 and give alternatives in the corridor to take advantage of new bicycle facilities.

A previous report organized the information of IBR 1 into eight sections. If the proposed alignment is accepted a new report will be written to be a guide for IBR 1. With the new proposed alignment these eight sections would be modified to fit the new alignment.

After consideration off all the construction projects and closures on IBR 1 there are three major areas that are of most concern. These are the closure of FortBelvoir to the general public, the closure of the CSXBridge on Gunston Cove Road, and the construction of a new bridge on VA 123 over the OccoquanRiver. Any action that is taken with FortBelvoir is out of the jurisdiction of the Virginia Department of Transportation. The CSXBridge on Gunston Cove Road will be permanently removed. The VA 123 Bridge will be a structure that has bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

The question of what to do about the Fort Belvoir Closure is of the greatest concern to IBR 1. FortBelvoir was closed after September 11th, 2001. It has remained closed since then. The U.S. Army has several plans to open facilities to the public to help with congestion in the area. These plans also include bicycle facilities. However NOVA TP has given consideration to aligning IBR 1 to completely bypass FortBelvoir.

This is the first recommendation of realigning IBR 1. Several new projects that are adjacent to IBR 1 can create an alignment that reduces the mileage, alters major roadway crossings, and prevents any other future closings of Military Bases. The Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project has many bicycle/pedestrian facilities in its plan. These can be utilized to help align IBR 1 onto a more direct path. The connector trail from South Washington Street to US Route 1 is currently under construction. This will be a new bicycle/pedestrian facility connecting major trails of Virginia to Maryland. The new connector will run directly from US Route 1 to South Washington Street and then across the new bridge. It will have intersections with the Mt. Vernon Trail and the Potomac Heritage Trail. NOVA TP sees this as an opportunity to make this part of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project a new Bicycle/Pedestrian hub for Northern Virginia, the intersection of two multi-state bicycle routes and one regional route. This connector takes riders to Huntington Ave which is a short roadway between two arterial routes. It is also a very adequate facility which will be 12’ in width and be marked for two way traffic. Huntington Ave connects US Route 1 and Telegraph Road. Telegraph is currently included in the IBR 1 alignment. With three planned construction projects on Telegraph road, one under construction two currently in Preliminary Engineering, it will become a new facility which can reduce the length of IBR 1 by six miles.

The projects in the PE phase for Telegraph Road are widening projects that include the installation of Shared-Use Path along Telegraph Road from South Kings Hwy to Beulah Street. The third project is also part of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project with the reconstruction of the I-495 interchange at Telegraph Road. This will rebuild the intersection of Huntington Ave and North Kings Hwy. The following will compare the current ISB 1 alignment with the proposed alignment (from North to South).

Realignment 1

Proposed Alignment / Interstate Bicycle Route 1
South Washington Street / South Washington Street
Route 1 Connector / George Washington Memorial Parkway
Huntington Ave / Mt. Vernon Memorial Hwy
Telegraph Road / Old Mill Road
Telegraph Road @ Beulah St / Pole Road
Woodlawn Road
Beulah Street
Telegraph Road @ Beulah St

This alignment also relocates the crossing of US Route 1. It moves the crossing from VA 235 at US 1 to Huntington Ave at US Route 1. The current status of the intersection at VA 235 has a MOBIS mobility rating of F. This means the intersection is failing at providing mobility. The MOBIS report also has no plans for improvements to this intersection. However the Huntington Ave intersection will be improved as part of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project. This will provide a better crossing of a Major Arterial Route in the region.

The following page has the proposed vs. current alignment mapped.

Interstate Bicycle Route 1 vs. Proposed Alignment

One can see the comparison between the length and directness when the two alignments are mapped together. The length of the current alignment from South Washington Street to the intersection of Beulah St and Telegraph Rd is 14.5 miles. The length of the proposed alignment is 8.5 miles. This is the reduction of 6 miles mentioned previously.

Another major consideration of the proposed alignment is to not have major bike routes coincide. Keeping the routes separate can help provide more bicycle routes in an area with limited space. The basic idea is if the Mt. Vernon Trail is all inclusive as part of IBR 1 then a bicyclist who travels IBR 1 has also traveled the Mt Vernon Trail. Separating the two routes through FairfaxCounty creates two major bicycle routes without any special projects or funding. The idea of using new facilities, avoiding FortBelvoir, and shortening the distance by 40% are all benefits of this section of alignment.

The closure of the CSXBridge on Gunston Cove Road is a inopportunity that the state has little control over. The bridge is on the right of way of the CSX railroad and was closed by VDOT bridge inspectorsdue to structural failure. The future of the bridge is demolition in the near future. However, this is not a major blow to Interstate Bicycle Route 1. There are also VDOT construction projects in the area to help realign IBR 1. This section has two projects, one complete, one under construction, to provide bicycle facilities that can be beneficial to IBR 1.

The US Route 1 widening in the Lorton area has recently been completed. With the project was wider and more lanes for traffic on US Route 1 and a shared-use path on the south bound side. Also under construction is the Lorton Road Project which is widening Lorton Road and installing a shared-use path.

Since nothing can be done about the CSX bridge on Gunston Cove Road realignment is inevitable for this section of IBR 1. The proposed alignment would eliminate Old Colchester Road, Gunston Road, and Gunston Cove Road from IBR 1. The alignment would have riders follow US Route 1 to connect to Lorton Road and Telegraph Rd. This alignment will be shorter an eliminate several potential safety hazards.

The safety hazards eliminated would be two crossings of US Route 1, and a one-way bridge on Old Colchester Road. The bridge on Old Colchester Road over Pohick Creek has only guardrail and no bicycle safety features. Eliminating the crossings of US Route 1 would prevent the crossing of 5 lanes at Gunston Road and the crossing of 8 lanes at Telegraph Road.

The new bridge on VA 123 over the OccoquanRiver will include facilities that can accommodate bicyclist. This crossing would be preferred over the current pedestrian bridge crossing just to the north. The current crossing is a narrow wooden pedestrian bridge. The approach on the PrinceWilliamCounty side is also not bicycle friendly. The recommended alignment will be shown on the following map.

The Town of Occoquanhas constructed more pedestrian friendly sidewalks through streetscaping. This has caused several streets to become one-way streets. On one-way streets bicyclists have the obligation to obey the rules of the road. This would require cyclist to have different routes for north bound and south bound routes or dismount their bikes when going the opposite way on a one-way street. Having separate routes is not recommended in such a small area. The additional signage needed could be confusing to riders and would not fit the theme of a historic town. The following charts will compare the following two proposed sections of alignment (from north to south).

Proposed Alignment / Interstate Bicycle Route 1
Intersection of Telegraph Road and US 1 / Intersection of Telegraph Road and US 1
Richmond Hwy / Straight onto Old Colchester Road
Lorton Road / Gunston Road
Intersection of Lorton Road and Gunston Cove Road / Cross US 1 to Gunston Cove Road
Intersection of Lorton Road and Gunston Cove Road

Realignment 2

Realignment 3

Proposed Alignment / Interstate Bicycle Route 1
Ox Road (VA 123) / Ox Road (VA 123)
Gordon BLVD (VA 123) / Route 722
Commerce Street / PedestrianBridge Crossing
Tanyard Hill / Mill Road
Ellicott Street
Commerce Street
Union Street
Tanyard Hill

Interstate Bicycle Route 1 vs. Proposed Alignment

If the following three proposed alignments are accepted the following will benefit Interstate Bicycle Route 1.

  1. Three crossings of US Route 1 will be reduced to one crossing and the one crossing will be located at a newly designed intersection (part of the Wilson Bridge Project).
  2. The length of Interstate Bicycle Route 1 will be reduced from 25 miles to 17 miles (30% reduction).
  3. The route will have less turns and therefore easier to follow.
  4. The route will include FIVE major projects sponsored by VDOT.
  5. More of Interstate Bicycle Route 1 will be on VDOT right of way. This can help prevent future closures/amendments/improvements.
  6. Separating IBR 1 from the Mt. Vernon Trail in FairfaxCounty creates more bicycle routes in an area where usage is increasing.
  7. The shorter route has cyclists ride through a congested area in less time.
  8. Two bridges that do not accommodate bicycleswill no longer be used.
  9. A greater percentage of IBR 1 will be on the Proposed Northern Virginia Regional Bike Network
  10. Bicyclists will have more access to Interstate Bicycle Route 1 in FairfaxCounty.

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