RTC TrailBlog : construction

Town Connects to Regional Trail Network with Rebuilt "Green Street"

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:41:00 GMT

Edmonston, Md., is a town of a little more than 1,000 people in Prince George's County, just outside Washington, D.C. Its location along the Anacostia Tributary Trail System provides access by bicycle to major destinations, including Silver Spring and the Unviersity of Maryland at College Park. In the future, two planned off-road connections in D.C. will extend the trail network south along the Anacostia River and provide an off-road route to downtown Washington via the Metropolitan Branch Trail.

Despite the town's prime location at the nexus of a growing regional trail network, its streets have been anything but friendly for active transportation. Like many towns, Edmonston is home to wide asphalt roadways prone to speeding and excessive rainwater runoff. Because it is a low point near the confluence of two tributaries running through paved-over suburban areas, the town has suffered from severe flooding. When it came time to rebuild Decatur Street, the town's main road providing access to the trail network, a consensus emerged that it was time for a change, and the concept of a Green Street was born in Edmonston.

Designed to reduce stormwater runoff and improve access for non-motorized transportation, the new Decatur Street includes bike lanes, narrowed vehicular lanes, textured crosswalks, native trees, porous pavement and LED lights. These and other road improvements will not only naturally treat 90 percent of the pollution washed into the river and reduce the total amount of runoff, but they will also provide a safer connection to the trail network along the river banks. Funded by $1.3 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the project is being completed in what the town calls an "open source" manner. As a result, planning and engineering documents are available online for advocates, officials and other professionals to use.

At the project's November 2009 groundbreaking, attended by federal Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Mayor Adam Ortiz noted the town's diversity: a third of the population is Latino, a third black and a third white. "We're diverse in every way, except we don't have rich people," he said. "And if our little working class town can build a sustainable street like this, then anybody can."

Photo: Decatur Street before its Green Street treatment. Photo courtesy the Town of Edmonston.

Does Your Trail Need a Bridge? Maryland is Offering

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:35:00 GMT

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We've posted about interesting ways to bridge the gap on RTC TrailBlog before. Here's another one in case your trail could use a span with a 27-foot width. TheWashCycle points us to this offer from the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA):

Maryland Highway officials hope to sell the Maryland Route 545 bridge over Little Elk Creek in Childs in Cecil County. The steel pony truss bridge was built in 1932...The span is available for purchase by any city or county government, historic preservation organization, bicycle/trail group, non-profit organization, corporation or individual for reuse at a new location. State funds may be available to cover some of the costs of moving the bridge... The new owner is required to preserve the bridge according to established standards for historic bridges.

Interested? Contact Fred Shoken in SHA’s Environmental Planning Division/Cultural Resources Section at 866.527.0502 or at fshoken@sha.state.md.us before March 15.

New Access Point Makes Trail Use Easier for Cleveland Residents

Eric Oberg (RTC) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:08:00 GMT

The Morgana Run Trail in Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood recently opened a new access point allowing numerous residents a closer, safer way to get onto the popular 3.5-mile urban trail. The Morgana Bluff Trail access work was finished in early November on Blanche Avenue adjacent to the Boys and Girls Club. The beautifully designed project includes a paved ADA accessible ramp, reclaimed sandstone stairs and an excellent textured stone retaining wall. This project will allow hundreds of neighborhood residents to access the trail directly from Blanche Avenue instead of having to go along streets to the much busier Broadway Avenue or 49th Street access points. The proximity to the Boys and Girls Club, as well as the soon-to-be-constructed Mound Elementary School, will make this a crucial link for the safe travel of children in the area to both their school and recreational activities.

This project is a great example of identifying community needs along an existing trail. The Blanche Avenue access point was being used by the neighborhood already via a dilapidated set of concrete stairs. The heavy use of this area highlighted the need for a formally designed access point, which brought Slavic Village Development, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Active Living by Design and the Ohio to Erie Canalway Association together to fund the project and get it built.

This type of construction project, which better integrates and connects the Morgana Run Trail with the neighborhoods it traverses, are what really help transform a single trail project into a truly integral part of a community.

Photo of Morgana Bluff Connector by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Moonville Rail-Trail Saves Money by Using Old Rail Cars as Bridges

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:19:00 GMT

Photo and story by Eric Oberg/Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Bridges are a costly need for rail-trails, many of which cross streams, roadways and even other rail corridors. After engineering and installation quotes were obtained from a precast bridge supplier for bridges along Ohio’s Moonville Rail-Trail, the reality of the extremely costly challenge became clear. So when members of the trail’s nonprofit group heard that old flatbed rail cars might be available from the federal government’s Gaseous Diffusion Plant near Piketon, Ohio, a light bulb went on and calls were made. The rumor was true: some rail cars were available to eligible entities, including nonprofits. Over the next few months the trail group expressed its interest, then waited, worried and wondered what needed to be done to get the cars to their corridor. Moonville Rail-Trail President Neil Shaw finally got the call in August and was informed that three cars were ready for pick-up.

Although the cars were donated at no charge, they had to be moved within three days to avoid a stiff storage fee. A friend of the trail with a big rig and trailer came to the rescue. Just shy of the move deadline, three rail cars were being backed down the corridor toward the first bridge site. The rail cars are heavy steel flat bed cars, as if they were manufactured to someday work as a bridge structure. The sheer strength, size and shape made these cars ideal bridges.

Two large cranes were rented for lifting the cars off of the trailer and then placing them on the existing bridge abutments. As the cars were scrutinized it was found that they were actually not 50 feet long, as advertised, but were instead 46 feet, nine inches long. With bridge abutments exactly 50 feet apart at the first site, some good old-fashioned ingenuity was needed. The contractor working to install the bridges, Seneca Steel from nearby Logan, Ohio, was more than up to the task. Using portable truck-mounted welding equipment, the contractor fabricated extensions for each end of the rail car, as well as feet that were then bolted to the abutments to make the elevation work to match the adjoining trail tread. This amazing work has resulted in a snugly fit bridge structure that should service the trail for decades to come.

The second bridge site was an even larger challenge. The opening from abutment to abutment was measured at 54 feet, and again the rail cars were only 46 feet, nine inches. The torches came out and the more than seven feet necessary to finish the span was simply cut from the third rail car. This piece will be welded onto the car and the bridge placed on the abutments.

The Moonville Rail-Trail now boasts two bridge decks in need of decking and railings. Until now, the bridges have cost the group under $4,000 for transportation and installation work. They are currently soliciting bids for the wood necessary to complete the projects. The original quote for building, transport and installation from the pre-fab company was $54,000 for the first bridge and $84,000 for the second. What trail group, looking at a huge capital need such as a bridge project, cannot appreciate a savings of more than $100,000?