D.C./Woodrow Wilson Bridge meet recap
Froggie
construction going on in the area. Thus was the backdrop for the D.C./
Woodrow Wilson Bridge meet.
14 of us gathered at a local Chili's in Huntington. The group
included DC/Baltimore area regulars (Pete Jenoir, Brian Polidoro, Mike
Kotler, Oscar Voss, and myself), hobbyists from further south (Scott
Kozel, Adam Prince, Bob Malme), Brian Powell and two of his friends
representing West Virginia, Doug Kerr and Steve Alpert came down from
up north, and even a Michigan visitor in the name of Brian Reynolds.
After lunch, we all crowded into three vehicles (in a town like D.C.,
its best to use as few vehicles as possible for gatherings like this),
and headed to our first stop: the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. A 2 mile
hike from the Jones Point Park parking area out to the middle of the
bridge (via the bike/ped path on the bridge) gave an opportunity to
view some of the smaller details of both the bridge design, the
inclusion of a bike/ped path on the bridge and the Washington St
bridge deck, and a view north towards D.C. proper from the two
observation decks along the bridge...on a normal day, both the
Washington Monument and the Capitol building can be easily seen from
the bridge.
Next up was a driving tour, heading west on the Beltway towards
Springfield, noting construction of the future HOV ramp connections at
the Springfield Interchange (the final, "Phase 8", part of the overall
interchange project). After some circling around Springfield proper
(plus a short detour), we continued south and west to view
construction of the last phase of the Fairfax County Parkway through
the Engineering Proving Grounds at Ft. Belvoir, where grading and the
bridgework at Rolling Rd are both well underway.
Afterwards was a drive back up to the Springfield Interchange and onto
the Beltway again, this time to see some of the construction
associated with the Beltway HO/T lane project. This project is, in a
nutshell, rebuilding the Beltway from south of Braddock Rd (SR 620) to
roughly Georgetown Pike (VA 193)...both rebuilding interchanges along
the corridor and adding 2 HO/T lanes in each direction in the median.
This part of the tour also included a stop at the Washington & Old
Dominion Trail to view some of the construction at the I-66/I-495
interchange from outside the car.
Back in the car and east on I-66, a drive across the Key Bridge and
along the Whitehurst Freeway, our next stop was Foggy Bottom, and the
traffic circle at Virginia & New Hampshire Aves NW. This location is
in front of the Watergate Hotel and directly on top of I-66. From
this, we view what is likely the oldest freeway sign within the
District, just south of the circle on WB I-66 at the exit to E Street
and what would have been the I-695 West Loop.
A short drive past some of the monuments/memorials, along the SW/SE
Freeway, and past the Marine Barracks brought us to our final
location...Barney Circle. This circle long represented the north end
of what was constructed of I-295...a situation that has changed over
the past few months with AASHTO/FHWA approval of routing changes to
both I-295 and hidden I-695 as part of the soon-to-begin 11th Street
Bridges project. In addition, the ramps connecting the 11th Street
Bridge to Barney Circle were recently demolished. Another feature
just south of the circle is another very old overhead guide sign,
still holding an I-295 shield, for what would have been the southbound
connection from the East Leg to the 11th Street Bridge.
After Barney Circle, we all returned to the starting point to collect
our cars and give the official farewell, though that was not it for
everyone as several of us got together for dinner afterwards.
All in all, a good meet.
Froggie | Alexandria, VA | http://www.ajfroggie.com/roads/
Scott M. Kozel
>
> An overall decent weather day yesterday for a gathering, and plenty of
> construction going on in the area. Thus was the backdrop for the D.C./
> Woodrow Wilson Bridge meet.
>
> 14 of us gathered at a local Chili's in Huntington. The group
> included DC/Baltimore area regulars (Pete Jenoir, Brian Polidoro, Mike
> Kotler, Oscar Voss, and myself), hobbyists from further south (Scott
> Kozel, Adam Prince, Bob Malme), Brian Powell and two of his friends
> representing West Virginia, Doug Kerr and Steve Alpert came down from
> up north, and even a Michigan visitor in the name of Brian Reynolds.
Great meeting, good fellowship, and very well organized! You certainly
had the tours planned out well. Saw a whole cross-section of roads,
highways, urban areas of parts of Old Town Alexandria, Springfield,
Rosslyn, and D.C., and several of the major monuments in D.C., including
residential areas and federal buildings in D.C.
The tour evoked a whole variety of feelings and memories of the area, as
it has been a long time since I frequented the local areas around D.C.,
I lived in Old Town Alexandria 1969-1972 and my parents continued to
live there until 1986 when they retired and moved to the Maryland
Eastern Shore.
--
Scott M. Kozel Highway and Transportation History Websites
Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C. http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Capital Beltway Projects http://www.capital-beltway.com
Philadelphia and Delaware Valley http://www.pennways.com
Adam Prince
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15530177@N05/sets/72157622857809510/
(i'll add the meet and my trip to Manassas National Battlefield Park
on the blog later in the week)
H.B. Elkins
>
>My photo set from the meet:
>http://www.flickr.com/photos/15530177@N05/sets/72157622857809510/
>(i'll add the meet and my trip to Manassas National Battlefield Park
>on the blog later in the week)
Sounds like you guys had a good time. Sorry I had to miss it.
--
To reply by e-mail, remove the "restrictor plate"
JPI
wrote:
Same here. I will be leaving for central PA Friday morning and will be
up there for a week, so far traveling weather is looking fine.
Jason Ilyes
JPI
Lebanon, TN
Home of the Barrel
Pete Jenior
"Froggie" <fro...@mississippi.net> wrote in message
news:752fe60e-0679-4363...@33g2000vbe.googlegroups.com...
> An overall decent weather day yesterday for a gathering, and plenty of
> construction going on in the area. Thus was the backdrop for the D.C./
> Woodrow Wilson Bridge meet.
>
hosting.
Pete
Adam Prince
> My photo set from the meet:http://www.flickr.com/photos/15530177@N05/sets/72157622857809510/
> (i'll add the meet and my trip to Manassas National Battlefield Park
> on the blog later in the week)
And as promised:
Photos from Manassas National Battlefield Park:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15530177@N05/sets/72157622732840495/
Set (w/ some signs):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15530177@N05/sets/72157622732840495/