Project to build bicycle, pedestrian bridge across the Potomac River receives $20 million grant

The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority has been awarded a grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation in support of its Long Bridge bicycle and pedestrian crossing project.

The $20 million grant comes from the USDOT’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant program.

The long bridge bicycle and pedestrian crossing project is a new, dedicated bicycle and pedestrian bridge that will span the Potomac River between Washington, D.C. and Arlington.

“VPRA’s long bridge project is designed to not only relieve congestion along the rail corridor across the Potomac, but to also provide an additional route for pedestrians and bicyclists to travel across the river that is also safe, direct, and a more pleasant experience,” said Michael McLaughlin, chief operating officer of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority. “This Raise grant will further our efforts to make that a reality.”

The bridge will connect Long Bridge Park and the Mount Vernon Trail in Arlington to the East and West Potomac Parks in Washington, D.C.

It will provide a substantially wider connection across the Potomac River for non-motorized traffic.

The new bridge will be built as a part of VPRA’s larger long bridge project, a $2 billion rail project designed to eliminate the bottleneck currently facing rail traffic crossing the Potomac.

The long bridge bicycle and pedestrian crossing project will consist of a 2,300-foot-long structure dedicated to walking and bicycling across the Potomac. It will cross the Potomac between the existing Long Bridge and the WMATA Metrorail Yellow Line bridge.

The project’s current estimated cost is $88 million.