Good news for bikers and walkers: trail networks in DC and Maryland are about to be linked together, thanks to a $10 million federal grant to build a missing segment of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. Mayor Vincent Gray and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley made a joint announcement about the project in June, with Gray saying that the trail will benefit “District and Maryland residents and visitors for generations to come.” The grant will fund construction of the four-mile Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Trail segment, which will run between Benning Road in DC and Bladensburg Waterfront Park in Maryland, linking Maryland’s nearly 40-mile trail network throughout the Anacostia River Tributary System to the planned 20-mile Anacostia Riverwalk Trail in DC—12 miles of which are already open and heavily used. The Anacostia Riverwalk Trail will connect 16 waterfront neighborhoods to the Anacostia River, as well as the Southwest Waterfront, the Nationals baseball stadium, the Navy Yard, RFK Stadium, the National Arboretum, and other popular destinations. Construction on the trail will begin by the end of the year using a mix of city, state, and federal funds and will be completed by 2014.
