WASHINGTON — Two former trolley trestles were found to be “structurally compromised,” forcing the closure of a trail in Montgomery County.
Metro and the National Park Service closed the trail — known as the Sycamore Store Trail — under the trestle at Walhonding Road in Bethesda. The closure blocks access to the pedestrian overpass that leads to the C & O Canal Towpath from MacArthur Boulevard. Pedestrians and cyclists can access the towpath from locations including the Union Arch Bridge on MacArthur Boulevard and through the Clara Barton Parkway at Locks 7, 8 and 9.
Metro and NPS also found the trestle at Wilson Lane to be compromised, but this is not accessible from a public path.
The two trestles are more than 120 years old and used to link Georgetown in D.C. to Glen Echo Park in Maryland.
These are the latest in the area’s corroding trolley architecture. Earlier this month, Metro applied for a permit to demolish the Foundry Branch Trolley Trestle that runs over Glover-Archbold Park near Georgetown University. But the D.C. Preservation League wants to have it restored for use by hikers and bicyclists.
Metro owns the three trestles.