[Archived] City Receives $372,000 to Improve and Expand the Multi-use Trail on Eisenhower Avenue

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2001
CONTACT: KIRK KINCANNON, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION, PARKS, AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

City Receives $372,000 to Improve and Expand the Multi-use Trail on Eisenhower Avenue

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) announced that the Commonwealth Transportation Board has awarded the City of Alexandria and its Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities $372,000 in transportation enhancement funds to improve and expand the multi-use trail on Eisenhower Avenue.

City Manager Philip Sunderland said, "This award has come at a great time. We just finished our Open Space Summit on Saturday, June 23, and these monies will enable us to facilitate one of the Summit’s goals to protect our existing open space, which includes enhancing bike trails."

According to Sandra Whitmore, Director of the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, these funds will be used to "enhance and expand the existing Eisenhower Avenue multi-use trail to provide a safe, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing experience for recreational and commuting cyclists, as well as, pedestrians."

The purpose of the project is to re-route a section of the trail to replace the at-grade crossing of Eisenhower Avenue with an underpass, as well as to bring the existing and proposed trail into compliance with AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) bicycle facility standards for width, guardrails, and signs. The $372,000 will be used to fund the first phase of the project which will focus on constructing the Eisenhower Avenue underpass and building new sections of the trail to connect to existing trail segments. Future phases of the project will focus on renovation of existing trail segments.

The City submitted an application for these funds to the Virginia Department of Transportation in January 2001. These monies are part of the federal Transportation Equity Act Program (now TEA-21, and formerly known as ISTEA) created by Congress in 1991 to enhance communities, the natural environment and historic preservation. The Virginia Department of Transportation administers the program, and the Commonwealth Transportation Board awards the monies.

This year $20.2 million was awarded to 115 new and existing projects throughout each of VDOT’s nine districts. Up to 80 percent of each project can be financed with federal dollars and at least 20 percent must come from other public or private sources. For Alexandria, the $372,000 in federal monies will be matched with $75,000 in City Capital Improvement Program monies for a total project cost of $ 447,000.

Work on this project will begin January 1, 2002, and is expected to be completed by December 31, 2002.