Pedestrians and cyclists who frequent the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail will need to find an alternative route through the Dunn Loring area this week.
The trail closed yesterday (Monday) between Gallows Road in Dunn Loring and Shreve Road in Idylwood to give crews room to install a new electric transmission line as part of Dominion Energy’s Clark-Idylwood reconductor project. The closure will remain in place on Friday (July 11).
During the temporary closure, which affects an approximately 1-mile-long segment, Dominion is directing trail users to follow a 2.7-mile detour along Gallows Road to Route 29 and Shreve Road.
The electrical work, which involves crews pulling wires over I-66 and I-495, will continue affecting the W&OD Trail for the rest of this month. From July 11 through Aug. 1, flaggers will be present to manage pedestrians and cyclists, occasionally stopping traffic on the trail for up to 15 minutes, according to Dominion Energy.
The current work constitutes the second phase of the reconductor project, which is replacing roughly four miles of wires from the Clark substation (375 Center Street) to the Idylwood substation (7701 Shreve Road) with a new, 230-kilovolt transmission line. The first phase focused on Vienna and also required a temporary trail closure.
According to Dominion, the transmission line is in need of an upgrade to ensure it can support the area’s “growing energy needs.” However, the project has stirred unanticipated controversy after the utility cleared trees throughout the Vienna and Dunn Loring portions of the trail that it said posed a potential risk to the electrical grid.
The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks), which owns the W&OD Trail, argued that the tree removals were more extensive than necessary and criticized Dominion for not seeking input beforehand or establishing a plan to replant the affected areas.
Under pressure from local leaders throughout Northern Virginia, Dominion agreed to reevaluate its approach to managing vegetation near its power lines in the W&OD corridor, though it committed to completing the tree clearings already underway in the Clark-Idylwood project area. The forestry work in Vienna and Dunn Loring was completed this spring.
NOVA Parks and Dominion have both indicated that they plan to continue discussions on a new agreement governing tree and vegetation management along the trail, but the utility announced in early June that it planned to remove another 129 trees, including 58 trees in the Herndon area as well as others in Loudoun and Arlington counties. Those clearings were expected to take three to four weeks to complete, starting on June 16.
According to Dominion Energy communications manager Aisha Khan, the tree work related to the Clark-Idylwood project is now finished, though crews trimmed back some trees on Shreve Road yesterday “to support the temporary detour path” at NOVA Parks’ request.
“Our previously announced corrective tree maintenance is underway in Fairfax and Loudoun counties and will wrap up this week,” Khan said. “Work in Arlington is pending a permit to remove four dead trees. NOVA Parks and the Forester’s/Arborist’s for each county have been notified of the work.”
The second and final phase of the Clark-Idylwood project is on track to finish this summer.
This story was updated to clarify the duration of the W&OD Trail closure.
