Last week Virginia Transportation Board staff provided recommendations for projects to be funded by Virginia’s SMART SCALE program. Arlington County’s submission for a project to widen portions of the Mount Vernon Trail in Arlington and Alexandria was ranked 7 out of 11 projects, which means that it will likely be funded. Project funding decisions will not be finalized by the Virginia Transportation Board until June.

This project would provide funding to the National Park Service (NPS) to improve and reconstruct approximately 6.5 miles of the Mount Vernon Trail in Arlington and Alexandria, from Roosevelt Island to near Jones Point Park. There is a portion of the trail between these two points that lies on Columbia Island which is part of the District of Columbia. This portion of the trail will not be funded by SMART SCALE and additional funding would need to be secured. The National Park Service (NPS) will manage the project if funded. The project widens the trail’s paved surface from between seven and eight feet to 11 feet where feasible, and makes other associated improvements including striping center and edge lines, signage, improved bridges, and realigned trail intersections.

The application was submitted by Arlington County with Alexandria City Council adopting a resolution supporting the submissions.