FABB Blog

Photo: Washington Post

Every morning, Dorien Van Herpen fills two red bags with items she’ll need later at work. She places them behind her seat, then pulls out of the family garage in McLean to begin her commute to Washington. If she hits Chain Bridge at just the right time, she catches the early sun rising over the Potomac River, on her way to the Washington International School. An hour later, husband Willem Janssen will trace the same route over Chain Bridge on his way to the World Bank.

Unlike the continuous mass of drivers inching over Chain Bridge weekday mornings, Van Herpen and Janssen are a commuter cycling couple who navigate their hybrid bicycles to work in all degrees of weather. They are part of the widening stream of cyclists crossing Chain Bridge to workplaces in the District and Maryland...

To access the Capital Crescent Trail from Chain Bridge, cyclists maneuver down a zig-zag ramp to the C&O Canal tow path. If they want to head north, they have to cross Canal Road, without a crosswalk, walk along the edge of the road to a wooded footpath that leads to the Crescent Trail. The other option is to ride the tow path south about a mile to Flecher's Cove, switch onto the Capital Crescent, then reverse direction and ride back north, to access places like Bethesda.

"The C&O between Chain Bridge and Flecher's is the worst part of the entire path," says Laura Tuck, who started cycling to work on G Street with her husband, Jim DeMocker, in September. "Now, there are puddles and stuff, but it's like bone jarring, compared to outside, which is beautiful, they refinished." Tuck says the tow path can give you a headache, until you reach the pavement of the Capital Crescent. "It's just worse than washboard."

"I think more people would do this, if they made that a more hospitable spot," said DeMocker. "Fist-size cobblestone type things, I mean, they just poke up.

Even having to dodge puddles, stones and cars, Tuck says, "It's taken the worst part of our day, which is the commute, and made it just the best part. The sun rises about 7:15 and the steam coming up over the river, and it is just so nice."...

To: Arlington Alert Subscribers
Subject: Weekend Closure of Chain Bridge, 3/12-3/15

Weekend Closure of Chain Bridge. Work Delayed by Inclement Weather Now Rescheduled.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is advising motorists that it plans to completely close the Chain Bridge on the weekend of March 12-15 for reconstruction work on the bridge deck, approaches and structural steel beams. This work was originally scheduled for late January and early February but was delayed by multiple snow storms and sub-freezing temperatures.

Weather permitting, Chain Bridge will be closed from 8 pm on Friday, March 12 until 5 am on Monday, March 15.

There will be no access to the bridge from either the District or Arlington. That includes cyclists and pedestrians because the sidewalk will also be closed.

Thru traffic on Canal Road will not be obstructed, but motorists will not be able to turn onto Chain Bridge.

Motorists are advised to use alternate routes and river crossings including the American Legion, Key, Roosevelt, Memorial and 14th Street Bridges.

Variable Messages Boards will be in place to warn drivers of the work ahead and re-direct them to alternative routes.

Crews will be pouring new concrete and the bridge closures are necessary to give the concrete time to properly strengthen. Workers will also be replacing the expansion joints and streetlights on the bridge. To complete the work, additional weekend closures may be necessary later this month.

The project began on June 1, 2009. It was originally anticipated that the work on the bridge deck would be completed in late January, but the schedule has been significantly impacted by the severe weather this winter.

smj/OEM

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