Custis Trail

The Custis Trail is a hilly 4.5 miles (7.2 km)-long shared use path in Arlington County, Virginia. The asphalt-paved trail travels along Interstate 66 (I-66) between Rosslyn and the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail (W&OD Trail) at Bon Air Park.[1][2]

Custis Trail
Established1988
Length4.5 mi (7.2 km)
LocationArlington County, Virginia
DesignationShared use path
TrailheadsEastern: West end of trail bridge over George Washington Memorial Parkway 38°53′53″N 77°04′06″W
Western: Intersection with Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail 38°52′45″N 77°08′20″W
UseBiking, running, walking
Elevation
Grademoderate climbs; trail elevation increases from east to west
Cycling details
Trail difficultymoderate eastbound; moderate to strenuous westbound
SeasonAll
MonthsAll
SightsTrees and shrubs near trail.
Distant views on overpasses.
HazardsStreet crossings in first 0.7 mi (1.1 km) from eastern trailhead, especially at:
N. Lynn Street 38°53′57″N 77°04′15″W
N. Fort Myer Drive 38°53′57″N 77°04′19″W Winding trail:
Multiple blind curves on hills adjacent to highway sound walls near street overpasses of I-66.
90 degree turn at base of hill near I-66 overpass of Four Mile Run and western trailhead 38°52′46″N 77°08′10″W.
SurfaceAsphalt
Websitehttp://bikewashington.org/trails/wad/custis.htm
Custis Trail
Map of the Custis Trail

History

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) constructed the $2.5 million Custis Trail beside I-66 (named the Custis Memorial Parkway in Virginia east of the Capital Beltway) from 1978-1982.[3] VDOT originally did not plan to build the trail, but added it to the I-66 project to help the highway gain federal approval and funding after the federal government rejected the initial plans.

East of Glebe Road, I-66 and the Custis Trail were both built on the former right of way of the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad's Rosslyn spur, which the highway department had purchased in 1962. In late 1972, the county received permission to build a 1.3 mile temporary, natural surface bike trail on the right-of-way east of Spout Run, which was called the Spout Run Bike Trail.[4] The trail was to open by early 1973 and was in place by 1976.[5] The Custis Trail replaced this.

Construction on the Custis Trail (or I-66 Trail, as it was originally called) and on the highway began on August 8, 1978. The trail opened in the summer of 1982. In October, the highway was opened to cyclists and pedestrians for one day and in late December the highway opened for good. [6]

The Custis Trail originally extended for 8.5 miles (13.7 km) miles to Lee Highway (U.S. Route 29) in East Falls Church (see List of neighborhoods in Arlington County, Virginia). However, the section of the Custis Trail that travels between Bon Air Park and East Falls Church was later informally re-branded to become a part of the W&OD Trail.[7]

On June 11, 1988, an extension of the trail and a bridge over the George Washington Memorial Parkway opened at the trail's eastern end. The extension and the bridge connected the trail to the Mount Vernon Trail, a 17 miles (27 km)-long shared use path that travels along the Parkway near the west side of the Potomac River to Alexandria and George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. [8]

In 2018-19, VDOT, in cooperation with the Arlington County government, removed a lane of Lee Highway near the eastern end of the trail (between North Lynn Street and North Oak Street). The lane's removal enabled VDOT and the County to increase the width of that section of the trail from 10 feet (3.0 m) to 16 feet (4.9 m) and to widen the trail's buffer from 3 feet (0.9 m) feet to 8 feet (2.4 m).[9]

Description

The Custis Trail's eastern trailhead is at the trail's lowest elevation (33 feet (10.1 m)).[10] The trail connects at the trailhead to the Mount Vernon Trail, which provides access to three Potomac River crossings into downtown Washington, D.C., and the National Mall:[2]

250 yards (229 m) west of the trailhead, the Custis Trail connects at North Lynn Street to the Francis Scott Key Bridge, thus creating connections to Georgetown, to the southern end of the Capital Crescent Trail and to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath.[2] The trail then follows a hilly route along I-66 through Arlington County until reaching its western trailhead at the trail's junction with the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail (W&OD Trail) at Bon Air Park near Four Mile Run.[2][11] The western trailhead is 75 yards (69 m) east of North Patrick Henry Drive's overpass of I-66, the W&OD Trail and Four Mile Run.[2]

The trail reaches its highest elevation (299 feet (91.1 m)) near the North Harrison Street overpass of I-66 and the trail, west of Ballston.[12] The trail descends from that high point to the western trailhead, whose elevation is 233 feet (71.0 m).[13]

The Custis Trail crosses I-66 three times along its route:

The trail has five at-grade street crossings, all of which in a section of the trail that travels next to the westbound traffic lanes of Lee Highway in and near Rosslyn.[2] After the trail crosses I-66 on the Lee Highway overpass west of Rosslyn, the trail travels next to I-66 and crosses all streets on the highway's underpasses and overpasses.[2]

The trail has a 300-yard (274 m)-long spur that travels east to Fairfax Drive (Virginia State Route 237) along the westbound entrance ramp to I-66 in Ballston.[2][17] The spur connects to Ballston's streets and to the Bluemont Junction Trail, a 1.3-mile (2.1 km)-long rail trail that meets the W&OD Trail and the Four Mile Run Trail at Bluemont Park.[2]

Name

The trail is sometimes called the "Nellie Custis Trail" or the "Martha Custis Trail", but there is no clear record that the trail was named for any particular person. In 1980, there were discussions of naming I-66 for the Custis family, to which George Washington was related by marriage.

The highway was eventually named the "Custis Memorial Parkway" east of the Beltway. At the time that I-66 was opening, Virginia was unofficially calling the road the "Martha Custis Parkway". In 1981, at least one columnist thought the road - and by extension the trail - was being named specifically for Nellie.[7][18] The trail has also been called the "Custis Memorial Parkway Trail".

Notes
  1. "Custis Trail". Bike Washington. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
  2. "Arlington County Bike Map: 2019" (PDF). Bike Arlington. Arlington, Virginia: Arlington County Department of Environmental Services. May 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  3. "Arlington Virginia List of State Roads". Environmental Services. Government of Arlington County, Virginia. July 14, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  4. Eisen, Jack (November 22, 1972). "Rail Roadbed As Bike Trail Is Approved". The Washington Post.
  5. Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor Station Area General Plans. Arlington County (Va.). Dept. of Environmental Affairs. Planning Division. 1976.
  6. "I-66 Stretch Open Sunday to Hikers, Bikers". The Washington Post. October 20, 1982.
  7. Hodge, Paul (December 22, 1982). "$2.5-Million Bicycle Path Along I-66 Wins Praise". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  8. Brooks, Dudley (June 12, 1988). "Bikers' Bridge". The Washington Post.
  9. "Under Construction: Lynn Street Esplanade and Custis Trail Improvements in Arlington County". VDOT: Virginia Department of Transportation. November 21, 2019. Archived from the original on January 7, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  10. (1) Coordinates of eastern trailhead: 38°53′53″N 77°04′06″W
    (2) Elevation at eastern trailhead from topographic map at CalTopo Archived January 12, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
  11. Coordinates of western trailhead: 38°52′45″N 77°08′20″W
  12. (1) Coordinates of highest elevation on Cutis Trail: 38°52′48″N 77°07′36″W
    (2) Highest elevation on Custis Trail from topographic map at CalTopo Archived January 12, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Elevation at western trailhead from topographic map at CalTopo". Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  14. Coordinates of Custis Trail in Lee Highway overpass west of Rosslyn: 38°53′49″N 77°05′02″W
  15. Coordinates of Custis Trail within the Lee Highway underpass west of Spout Run Parkway: 38°53′46″N 77°05′55″W
  16. Coordinates of Custis Trail within the Four Mile Run underpass near the trail's western trailhead: 38°52′46″N 77°08′10″W
  17. (1) Coordinates of west end of Custis Trail spur in Ballston: 38°52′59″N 77°07′17″W
    (2) Coordinates of east end of Custis Trail spur in Ballston: 38°52′56″N 77°07′07″W
  18. (1) Grubisich, Thomas (June 21, 1980). "Routes -- Arlington Looks to History: I-66 May Be Named After Old Custis Family". The Washington Post.
    (2) Levey, Bob (November 5, 1981). "An Honor That Nellie Custis Doesn't Deserve". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 10, 2018.


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