Custis Trail
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| Custis Trail | |
|---|---|
 A winding path along the Custis Trail in Arlington, Virginia | |
| Length | 4.5 mi (7.2 km) |
| Location | Arlington County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Established | 1988 |
| Designation | Shared use path |
| Trailheads | Eastern: West end of trail bridge over George Washington Memorial Parkway 38°53′53″N 77°04′06″W / 38.898145°N 77.068374°W Western: Intersection with Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail 38°52′45″N 77°08′20″W / 38.879126°N 77.138784°W |
| Use | Biking, running, walking |
| Grade | moderate climbs; trail elevation increases from east to west |
| Difficulty | moderate eastbound; moderate to strenuous westbound |
| Season | All |
| Months | All |
| Sights | Trees and shrubs near trail. Distant views on overpasses. |
| Hazards | Street 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 / 38.899069°N 77.070756°W N. Fort Myer Drive 38°53′57″N 77°04′19″W / 38.899127°N 77.071876°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 / 38.879572°N 77.136110°W. |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Website | http://bikewashington.org/trails/wad/custis.htm |
| Custis Trail | |
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Map of the 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 and Old Dominion Railroad Trail (W&OD Trail) at Bon Air Park.[1][2]
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 1977 to 1982.[3][4][5] 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 (Virginia State Route 120), I-66 and the Custis Trail were both built on and near 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.[6] The trail was to open by early 1973 and was in place by 1976.[7] The more hilly Custis Trail replaced this relatively flat route, on which I-66 now travels.
On August 8, 1977, VDOT officially began constructing the Custis Trail (or I-66 Trail, as it was originally called) and the section of I-66 in Virginia east of the Beltway.[5] The trail opened during the summer of 1982. In October, VDOT opened most of the new highway to cyclists and pedestrians for one day.[8] VDOT opened the 10 miles (16.1 km) segment of I-66 between the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge and the Capital Beltway to motor vehicle traffic on December 22, 1982.[9]
The Custis Trail originally extended for 8.5 miles (13.7 km) to Lee Highway (U.S. Route 29) in East Falls Church (see List of neighborhoods in Arlington County, Virginia).[4] 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.[1]
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.[10]
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).[11]