W&OD Trail | FFXnow

Dominion to continue cutting trees in Vienna area but ‘pause’ plans for rest of W&OD Trail

Published March 27, 2025 at 11:30AM | Updated March 27, 2025 at 4:44PM

A bicyclist passes tree workers on the W&OD Trail in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

After weeks of negotiations and public complaints, Dominion Energy has agreed to reassess plans to clear nearly all trees near its power lines in the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Railroad Regional Park.

However, the pause won’t bring relief to Vienna and Dunn Loring, where the utility will finish clearing trees and brush along a 4-mile section of trail in conjunction with a transmission line replacement between its Clark and Idylwood substations, Dominion Senior Vice President of Electric Transmission Joseph Woomer said yesterday in a letter to the Northern Virginia Regional Parks Authority (NOVA Parks).

News

Fairfax leaders urge Dominion to stop cutting trees along W&OD Trail

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 20, 2025 at 9:45AM

Tree stumps under Dominion Energy power lines along the W&OD Trail in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks) is turning up the pressure on Dominion Energy to end widespread tree clearings along the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail.

At the regional agency’s request, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 9-0 to approve a resolution on Tuesday (March 18) urging Dominion to halt reported plans to cut down any tree along the 45-mile-long trail that might someday interfere with its overhead power lines.

News

NEW: Tree clear-cutting along W&OD Trail alarms local officials and residents

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 27, 2025 at 9:00AM

A tree stump left by Dominion Energy near the Washington & Old Dominion Trail (courtesy NOVA Parks)

Some tree trimmings and removals were expected when Dominion Energy initated a project last year to replace electrical lines in the Vienna section of the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail, but the extent of the clearings has taken local residents, elected officials and even the agency that owns the trail by surprise.

Starting in November, the utility began cutting down trees and vegetation along a 4-mile stretch of the trail from Vienna to Dunn Loring at a much more “aggressive” scale than it has in the past, according to Paul Gilbert, executive director of the Northern Virginia Regional Parks Authority (NOVA Parks).

News

Suspect in Herndon rape was released from jail days earlier, sheriff’s office says

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 21, 2024 at 8:15AM | Updated November 21, 2024 at 11:49AM

Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard discusses the arrest of a man suspected of raping a woman on the W&OD Trail (via Herndon Police Department/Facebook)

The man charged with raping a woman in Herndon on Monday (Nov. 18) had been sentenced to jail less than a week earlier, the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office says.

Denis Humberto Navarette Romero, 31, was previously arrested by Herndon Police for a separate incident and brought to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on Oct. 20, according to the sheriff’s office.

News

UPDATED: Man charged with rape on W&OD Trail in Herndon

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 19, 2024 at 2:30PM | Updated November 19, 2024 at 4:05PM

Washington & Old Dominion Trail crossing at Grace Street in Herndon (via Google Maps)

Herndon police have arrested a man in connection with a reported sexual assault that occurred on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail yesterday (Monday).

Denis Humberto Navarette Romero, 31, has been charged with rape and abduction with the intent to defile after allegedly attacking a woman on the trail between Ferndale Avenue and Grace Street last night, the Herndon Police Department announced.

News

W&OD Trail temporarily closed in Vienna area for Dominion Energy project

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 13, 2024 at 1:15PM

The Washington & Old Dominion Trail is temporarily closed at Cedar Lane in Dunn Loring (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A nearly 3-mile stretch of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail has been out of commission this week, but pedestrians and bicyclists should be able to return soon.

Dominion Energy closed the trail from Mill Street NE in Vienna to Sandburg Street in Dunn Loring on Monday, Nov. 11 as part of its ongoing project to replace electric power lines between the Clark and Idylwood substations.

News

Pedestrian bridge opens over W&OD Trail near Reston Town Center

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 8, 2024 at 9:00AM

The Reston Town Center expansion looms behind officials walking on a newly opened pedestrian bridge over the W&OD Trail (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A new route is now available to help pedestrians and bicyclists travel between Reston Town Center and its paired Metro station.

The newly completed pedestrian bridge over the Washington & Old Dominion Trail near the Reston Town Center Transit Station (12051 Bluemont Way) drew “lots of people” when it opened over the last weekend (Nov. 2-3), one reader told FFXnow.

Countywide

W&OD Railroad history collection donated to library for trail’s 50th anniversary

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 8, 2024 at 2:30PM | Updated October 8, 2024 at 4:18PM

Providence District Dalia Palchik, former NOVA Parks board member Barbara Hildreth and Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn look at historical photos of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Washington & Old Dominion Trail’s history as a rail line was on full display yesterday (Monday) during the latest 50th anniversary celebration organized by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks).

After listening to local elected leaders, park officials and advocates reflect on the trail’s importance to the region, ceremony attendees could pore over old photographs of train stations and touch a rusted railroad spike, just steps from where the W&OD tracks once ran through the heart of the Town of Vienna.

Countywide

Project begins to replace invasive plants with meadows along W&OD Trail

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 18, 2024 at 3:45PM | Updated September 19, 2024 at 4:34PM

The W&OD Trail LOVE sign in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Dozens of volunteers will break out the work gloves and garden shears this Saturday (Sept. 14) to eliminate invasive plants around the “LOVE” sign by the Washington & Old Dominion Trail in Vienna.

The cleanup will clear the way for a native plant meadow that its organizer, the nonprofit Sustainability Matters, hopes will spawn similar beautification efforts all along the 45-mile-long regional trail.

News

Wiehle Avenue pedestrian bridge opens to W&OD Trail users — for real this time

By James Jarvis

Published July 25, 2024 at 9:30AM | Updated November 7, 2024 at 2:45PM

The new Washington & Old Dominion Trail pedestrian bridge over Wiehle Avenue in Reston (courtesy Hunter Mill District Supervisor's Office)

Let’s try this again: The long-anticipated pedestrian bridge over Wiehle Avenue in Reston is now officially open to Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail users.

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn had previously announced that the 147-foot-long, 16-foot-wide bridge would open on July 9, but the launch got delayed due to pending final inspections.