George Washington Memorial Parkway

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Map of the George Washington Memorial Parkway
The George Washington Parkway between Reagan National Airport and Gravelly Point in Arlington

The George Washington Memorial Parkway , also known as the GW Parkway for short , is a parkway maintained by the National Park Service . It is mainly located in Virginia , only a short section in the northwest of the Arlington Memorial Bridge over Columbia Island , is in the District of Columbia . Two sections connected by Washington Street are in Alexandria, Virginia . A third section runs on the opposite side of the Potomac River in the District of Columbia and Montgomery Counties, Maryland . A fourth section, planned for Fort Washington, Maryland, was never built. The parkway is designated as an All-American Road .

Northern section

The USMC War Memorial on GW Parkway

The northern section begins on First Street, in the northern old town of Alexandria, where North Washington Street merges into the Parkway and ends in Fairfax County , where the Parkway joins the Capital Beltway south of the Potomac River. The parkway runs along the Potomac River, crosses Arlington County and serves as the main route to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport . In addition, the parkway is the access road to Theodore Roosevelt Island , the “LBJ National Grove”, the “Gravelly Point Park”, “Fort Marcy” and the “Turkey Run Park”. There are rest areas that offer a beautiful view of the skyline of Georgetown and the “Palisades”, a district on the Potomac River. The four-leaf cross with the “14th Street Bridge”, dating from 1932, is one of the oldest of its kind in the United States. The “Spout Run Parkway” connects the George Washington Memorial Parkway with US Highway 29 and serves as an indirect link to Interstate 66 . The section of the parkway north of the National Airport and Virginia State Route 233 is part of the National Highway System .

Potomac Heritage Trail

The Potomac Heritage Trail is a 10-mile (10-mile) hiking trail along the Potomac River and Parkway. It begins on Roosevelt Island and ends at the American Legion Bridge, over which the Capital Beltwaydge crosses the Potomac. The trail is part of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.

Southern section

The southern section runs from South Washington Street at the southern end of Old Town Alexandria along Fort Hunt to Mount Vernon. In Mount Vernon, the parkway ends in a roundabout, from which Virginia State Route 235 starts. Most of this section was formerly part of the Washington, Alexandria and Mount Vernon Railway. The Mount Vernon Cycle Path, which runs parallel to the south and middle sections of the Parkway, is a heavy hit with cyclists and runners.

Clara Barton Parkway

Clara Barton Parkway is administratively part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. It was also called Washington Memorial Parkway until 1989, but was then renamed to remove confusion among road users.

The east end of Clara Barton Parkway is in the District of Columbia, where Canal Road merges into the Parkway at the Chain Bridge. The west end is just past the Capital Beltway in Montgomery County, where it joins MacArthur Boulevard. The Parkway is the access road to Glen Echo Park and the Clara Barton National Historic Site in Glen Echo, Maryland . The Capital Beltway can be reached in a southerly direction via the interchange at the American Legion Bridge and in a northerly direction via the Cabin John Parkway.

Earlier planning

It was originally planned that the parkways on both sides of the river should be connected by a bridge over the Great Falls of the Potomac River . Protests by monument preservationists ensured that the construction of the bridge was canceled. Instead, traffic between the two parkways runs over the American Legion Bridge.

Administrative history

The parkway was approved on May 29, 1930 and passed on August 10, 1933 by the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital. On November 28, 1989, the Maryland section was renamed "Clara Barton Parkway". Other National Park Service attractions can be reached via the parkway:

Web links

Commons : George Washington Memorial Parkway  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ron Shaffer: After 20 Years of Columns, Checking the Rearview Mirror One Last Time . The Washington Post. June 25, 2006. Retrieved November 23, 2007.