The Proposed WB&A Trail Bridge - It Really is a Big Deal

There's a public meeting this week about a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over the Patuxent River on the WB&A Trail. This is a big deal. The trail has been under development for decades and this is THE missing link. The proposed bridge will connect the WB&A Trail terminus in Anne Arundel County to the system in Prince George’s County; Odenton and Bowie, respectively.

The WB&A Trail is a beautiful, yet incomplete, multi-use trail. The lack of a bridge over the Patuxent River is a critical missing piece of the trail that keeps all of us from realizing its full potential.
This important segment of the trail will offer safe connections among public recreation areas.

This bridge is the vital trail connection between Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties and will be part of the East Coast Greenway, the American Discovery Trail and the September 11th National Memorial Trail. The bridge will improve access in this extended corridor, providing easy entree to the Odenton MARC Station, and to the rapidly expanding employment centers on and around Fort George G. Meade.  

The proposed bridge is the perfect connection project for the area and the region. Deemed one of the Top Two (2) Trail Priorities in the entire region, the WB&A Trail Bridge will provide transportation and recreational cyclists and pedestrians safe access along the corridor. Without the bridge people on bicycles are forced to take an eight (8) mile detour along Crain Highway (MD Rte 3) – a high-volume, high speed roadway – just to cross the river.

Providing safer routes would encourage bicycling to numerous employment, education, shopping, and recreation destinations in and around the WB&A Trail and easier connections to the pedestrian & bicycle attractors listed in the 2013 Anne Arundel County Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan. 

Local businesses could realize a boost in business if driving was not the only way to get there. For some Anne Arundel residents, a bicycle is the only economic means of transportation and for others it is preferred for health, environmental, and enjoyment reasons. The same is true for walking. Encouraging other modes of transportation takes cars off the road and eases congestion.

Bicycle Advocates for Annapolis & Anne Arundel County (BikeAAA)

AA County Trail Website                      AA County Trail Map

PG County Trail Website                       PG County Trail Map