DDOT Plans Met Branch Trail Extension into Maryland

The Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT), long planned to connect Takoma Park and Silver Spring with downtown Washington, D.C. took another crank of the pedal closer to completion last month. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) released early plans for the trail improvement and extension running from the Brookland neighborhood near the Catholic University of America in D.C., up past the Fort Totten Transfer Station and Metro Station, and snaking adjacent the Red Line tracks, mostly via a new, separated trail on Blair Road.

The MBT is an important route for commuters heading both north and south between its termini at the Silver Spring Metro Station in Maryland and Union Station in D.C., with several destinations along the way. Many bicyclists use the current interim on-road routes between the trail segments in Takoma Park and downtown D.C. The segments currently under design will help bridge these important gaps, providing a cycling facility through difficult areas like the Fort Totten Transfer Station and adjacent National Park Services Lands. The schedule anticipates the final design will wrap up in 2016, with construction beginning in 2017.

Not included at this time is the segment along Maple, Cedar and Carroll streets and Eastern Avenue in Takoma D.C., though DDOT does plan to extend the Takoma Park segment of the trail to Piney Branch Road. The agency is still planning routes for the trail east and west of the Takoma Metro Station.

For more information, and to download the latest maps and graphics, visit: www.metbranchtrail.com/resources.

This article appeared in the May 2015 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.