Construction of a planned extension of the Trolley Trail in Hyattsville could begin soon, according to Hyattsville city officials. The extension would bridge a one-mile gap separating the Trolley Trail from the Anacostia Tributary Trail System’s Northwest Branch Trail along Rhode Island Avenue between the existing southern terminus of the Trolley Trail near Farragut Street and Charles Armentrout Drive to the south.
At its May 3, 2021, City Council meeting, Hyattsville City Manager Tracey Douglas said the project has secured funding from the State Highway Administration. The project will go out to bid in June, with a contractor expected to be selected by the end of the Summer, and construction is expected to begin in the Fall.
The trail would hug the eastern border of Rhode Island Avenue between Farragut Street and Charles Armentrout Drive. Near the intersection of Charles Armentrout, SHA officials plan to install a redesigned pedestrian and cyclist crosswalk regime and motor-vehicle light cycle designed to separate each mode of user from each other.
Designs for the project dating to 2019 planned to acquire property from CSX rail road to build portions of the trail connection. But “complications” acquiring land from CSX meant the project needed to be redesigned, causing delays.