Meeting Set Tomorrow to Address Status of Controversial I-66 Bicycle Trail

A meeting tomorrow (Thursday) will look at the current status of some surprisingly controversial efforts to make I-66 more bike and pedestrian friendly.

The meeting will be held by the Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling in the Providence District Office (3001 Vaden Dr.) at 7:30 p.m.

Susan Shaw, the VDOT Project Manager for Transform I-66, and Fairfax County Department of Transportation representatives are scheduled to attend and offer an update on the status of the trail.

The planned trail will run from Gallows Road in Vienna, near the Dunn Loring Metro station, to Route 29 in Centreville. Three miles of the trail will be adjacent to the interstate while eight miles will be removed from the interstate.

The section of the trail running alongside I-66 inside the highway’s noise walls drew sharp criticism from cycling advocates, including the Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, who pushed to have all of the trail outside the walls. But neighbors living along the highway refused to have the trail run near their properties, prompting some squabbling between state officials and lawmakers over the project.

The trail is planned to be 10 feet wide with two-food-wide shoulders on each side. Access to the trail is planned to be implemented at every half-mile.

Image via VDOT