VDOT to Realign W&OD Trail at Idylwood for Five Months

The Washington and Old Dominion Trail will be shifted slightly south where it passes Idylwood Park in Falls Church starting this Thursday (Jan. 14).

The Virginia Department of Transportation says the temporary realignment will allow crews to construct a new, permanent trail that can accommodate new Interstate 66 ramps as part of its Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project.

Construction will also involve the addition of a retaining wall to support the widening of the I-66 West ramp to I-495 South.

Idylwood Park is at the terminus of the Transform 66 project, which is adding 22 miles of express lanes between I-495 in Falls Church and University Boulevard in Gainesville.

VDOT previously planned to close the affected section of the W&OD Trail from July 27 through early December of last year and offer detours to pedestrians and cyclists, but construction was postponed “for additional project coordination.”

The realignment brings the trail closer to I-66 West and will last approximately five months through June 2021.

“All work is weather dependent and will be rescheduled if inclement conditions occur,” VDOT says.

Images via VDOT