The National Park Service began installing mile-markers June 6 on the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail to improve visitor safety.
The installation will require the temporary closure of six parts of the trail, according to a June 6 NPS news release. Each closure is expected to last just one day, but all work is subject to change depending on weather and project progress.
“It is our hope that adding the mile-markers to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail will enhance recreation on the trail and increase visitor confidence in their ability to report emergencies," National Capital Parks-East Superintendent Tara Morrison said, according to the release.
The Anacostia Riverwalk Trail is an ongoing 20-mile trail on both sides of the Anacostia River. It is a 10-12-foot-wide multi-use trail for cyclists, runners, skaters and walkers. There is seating, system maps, bike racks as well as interactive maps. The trail has an expansive history.
During the 17th century, the Nacotchtank Indians were the main residents along the eastern shore of the Anacostia, according to the NPS website. It wasn't until 1608 that Englishman John Smith explored the Anacostia, or Eastern Branch of the Potomac. And in 1790, President George Washington picked the 10-square-mile area around the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers as the seat of the new federal government.
The site appealed to him because Georgetown in Maryland and Alexandria in Virginia, both founded in the 1750s, were already successful port cities along the Potomac River, according to the website. And from there, the region just rose in its significance.
According to the news release, the schedule for the closures is mile marker 4.3-5.1, June 7 and 8, mile marker 5.1-6.5, June 9 and 10; mile marker 6.5-7.5, June 13 and 14; mile marker 7.5-8.3, June 15 and 16; mile marker 9.1-9.9, June 17 and 21; and mile marker 11.1-12.5, June 22 and 23.
