Both US Senators from Maryland—Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin—and Rep. Steny Hoyer, wrote to MDOT July 14 to postpone demolition of the Nice Bridge in Charles County, till its repurposing for bike/ped can be analyzed.
PHTA has long advocated such a move, as bike/ped on this bridge will be a vital link in the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.
Maryland's US Senators, Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, and Rep. Steny Hoyer, write to MDOT to halt demolition of Nice Bridge (as PHTA has advocated) til a fair analysis is done of its repurposing as a bike/ped facility. The bridge, in Charles County, MD, is in Hoyer's district.
Sen. Van Hollen at a public event (just after the letter was sent). Eric Brenner, who worked with PHTA and Van Hollen's office to create the letter, took this photo and thanked the Senator for his help in preserving the Nice Bridge for possible bike/ped use.
The existing, 2-lane, 80-year old Nice Bridge (left) and the new 4-lane replacement bridge (right) expected to be open for use this fall. Photo taken from the Maryland side.
PHTA sees bike/ped at the Nice Bridge as a vital link in the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail. It could link two existing rail-trails (blue on map) with an attractive candidate for rail-trail conversion (green on map) to form a 50-mile bike trail network.
