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County recommends separate trail bridge at Old Calvert Road; College Park urges option 1 while supporting near-term road changes
Summary
MNCPPC presented a feasibility study for a bridge connecting Old Calvert Road Park to the Northeast Branch Trail. The county recommended a new dedicated trail bridge (Option 1) as the most feasible long-term solution but cited permitting, floodplain and environmental hurdles and an estimated construction cost of about $2 million; county staff said near-term improvements on the existing Campus Drive bridge and Old Calvert Road are achievable faster.
Officials from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission presented a consultant feasibility study on Oct. 7 evaluating options to connect Old Calvert Road Park to the Northeast Branch Trail.
Sonya Ewing, division chief for Park Planning and Environmental Stewardship, and Bob Patton, trail development program manager, said the consultant examined four options: a new pedestrian/bicycle bridge near Old Calvert Road (Option 1); a bridge nearer the airport runway (Option 2); a south-side Campus Drive trail crossing (Option 3); and making the Campus Drive vehicle bridge and approaches friendlier to pedestrians and bicyclists (Option 4).
Patton summarized tradeoffs: Option 1 would create a dedicated bridge and the best connection to the trail system but will require environmental review, compensatory flood storage, and a lengthy permitting process. Patton said the consultant estimated that the construction cost for a new bridge in that location would be "about $2,000,000" but that figure excludes design, permitting and soft costs. He said Option 2 was vulnerable to flood damage and runway clearance constraints and that Option 4, improving existing road/bridge approaches, carries lower cost, is faster and is appropriate as a near-term mitigation while the long-term bridge work advances.
County staff said $2 million for the bridge is in their capital program but cautioned that this sum does not cover all soft costs and that additional funding would likely be necessary to complete design and construction. MNCPPC said it will assign the recommended option to its capital planning team to begin engineering and permitting work and will continue short-term improvements to Old Calvert Road and Campus Drive approaches.
Council members representing nearby neighborhoods urged MNCPPC to prioritize Option 1, citing safety, connectivity to the College Park Metro and long-standing community interest. MNCPPC agreed to pursue Option 1 as the preferred long-term solution while continuing near-term road and sidewalk work.
Next steps: MNCPPC will take the council's direction in writing, continue coordination with county and state agencies, and proceed with engineering investigations and permitting for the preferred alignment.
