Encyclopedia
| George Washington Memorial Parkway
Encyclopedia
|
| Tutorials | Encyclopedia | Dictionary | Directory |
|
George Washington Memorial Parkway
Map of the George Washington Memorial Parkway 
Vehicles round a bend in the George Washington Parkway near National Airport and Gravelly Point in Arlington, Va. The George Washington Memorial Parkway, known to local motorists simply as the "G.W. Parkway", is a parkway maintained by the U.S. National Park Service. It is located mostly in Northern Virginia, although a short section northwest of the Arlington Memorial Bridge passes over Columbia Island, which is within the District of Columbia. It is separated into two sections joined by Washington Street (State Route 400) in Alexandria, Virginia. A third section, the Clara Barton Parkway, runs on the opposite side of the Potomac River in the District of Columbia and Montgomery County, Maryland. A fourth section was proposed for Fort Washington, Maryland, but never built. The parkway is designated an All-American Road.
Northern section
USMC War Memorial, along the G.W. Parkway Potomac Heritage TrailThe Potomac Heritage Trail is a 10-mile trail that follows the Potomac River and the parkway. It begins at Roosevelt Island and goes to I-495 at the American Legion Bridge. It is a segment of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail. Southern sectionThe southern section extends from South Washington Street at the southern end of Old Town Alexandria past Fort Hunt to Mount Vernon. The southern section is a limited-access highway, but with at-grade intersections. At Mount Vernon, the parkway ends at a traffic circle, where it joins State Route 235. Most of this route was taken from the Washington, Alexandria and Mount Vernon Railway's right-of-way. The Mount Vernon bicycle trail parallels the southern and middle sections of the parkway (from Theodore Roosevelt Island to Mount Vernon), and is often filled with recreational and commuter cyclists and runners. Clara Barton ParkwayThe Clara Barton Parkway is administratively part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. It was signed as the George Washington Memorial Parkway until 1989, when it was renamed to overcome motorist confusion.[1] The Clara Barton Parkway has its eastern terminus in the District of Columbia, where the parkway connects with Canal Road and Chain Bridge. Its western terminus is at MacArthur Boulevard in the Potomac area of Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside the Capital Beltway. The parkway provides access to Glen Echo Park and the Clara Barton National Historic Site in Glen Echo, Maryland. The Clara Barton Parkway connects to the Capital Beltway via a partial interchange and also via the Cabin John Parkway (administered by the Maryland State Highway Administration). The Clara Barton Parkway includes an overhanging bridge near Glen Echo. Previously proposed connectionThe parkways on the two sides of the river were originally supposed to be joined by a bridge at the Great Falls of the Potomac River. However, opposition from preservationists led to the cancellation of that bridge. Instead, traffic between the two parkways uses the American Legion Bridge. The Virginia side of the Potomac river at Great Falls is managed by the Superintendent of the parkway as a national park site, known as Great Falls Park. Some elements of the proposed final parkway configuration – such as the concrete bridge that would have carried northbound traffic at the Glen Echo turn-around – were built but have never been used. Administrative historyThe parkway was authorized May 29, 1930 and transferred from the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital August 10, 1933. On November 28, 1989, the portion in Maryland was renamed the Clara Barton Parkway. The Parkway also administers other National Park Service features and areas:
Major intersectionsOnly signalized intersections and interchanges are listed.[2]
ReferencesExternal links
pl:George Washington Memorial Parkway Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
top
©2008-2009 TutorGig.com. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement
