The National Park Service (NPS) has announced that, starting February 14, it, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Virginia Department of Transportation will begin to replace Bridge 12 on the Mount Vernon Trail and realign the trail to improve safety near Fort Hunt Park. During the project, trail users will be detoured around the construction area.
The NPS will straighten trail curves that lead to Bridge 12, located approximately 400 yards north of Fort Hunt Park. The bridge will be relocated, allowing for a straighter alignment and a reduced grade leading to and from the bridge. The NPS will also upgrade the bridge railings and replace more than 350 tons of asphalt on the trail. Realigning the trail, replacing the bridge and laying new trail asphalt will reduce the severity and frequency of bike crashes on this section of trail.
During this project— which is expected to be completed in late summer— trail users will be detoured on the adjacent southbound section of the George Washington Memorial Parkway near Waynewood Boulevard. Trail users and drivers should expect temporary, short-term closures and should follow trail signs and directions from onsite flaggers.
The Bridge 12 project is one of many NPS-recommended trail upgrades raised in the service’s 2020 study of the Mount Vernon Trail to improve the trails’ safety and user experience.
FABB has supported NPS recommendations and continues to encourage the service to move quickly on the study’s short term recommendations, such as signage and pavement marking improvements, hiring a trail manager; trailhead enhancements, and new trail counters, as it embarks on these critical trail and bridge infrastructure improvements.
