Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park - History of The Regional Park

History of The Regional Park

When the W&OD Railroad closed in 1968, its 100-foot (30 m) wide right-of-way extended from Potomac Yard in Alexandria to the center of Purcellville. Soon after the railroad closed, the Virginia Department of Highways purchased the railroad's property from the line's owner, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, with the intent of using a portion of the right-of-way for the construction of I-66. Shortly thereafter, the Virginia Electric and Power Company (part of which was incorporated into Dominion Virginia Power in 2000) purchased most of the property from the highway department, as the company's electric power transmission lines were travelling within the right-of-way.

The first portion of the W&OD Trail opened in 1974 within the City of Falls Church under a lease agreement between the City government, the power company and NVRPA. As the trail proved to be popular, NVRPA purchased this and additional segments of the right-of-way from the power company between 1978 and 1982. The power company retained an easement that permitted the company to maintain its lines and to extend them along the right-of-way if needed.

NVRPA was not able to acquire from the power company the portion of the right-of-way that lay within the City of Alexandria. NVRPA also could not acquire the portion of right-of-way that the highway department had retained for construction of I-66 near East Falls Church in Arlington and various portions of the right-of-way that contained existing or potential highway crossings.

NVRPA extended the trail east and west of Falls Church as it acquired portions of the right-of-way. In 1987, the National Park Service designated the trail as a National Recreation Trail. The trail reached Purcellville in 1988. After encountering opposition from the public because of its potential environmental impacts, the final section of the trail opened in and near Arlington's Bluemont Park in 2002.

On October 20, 2007, construction began for a paved trail that would connect the W&OD Trail at its origin with the Four Mile Run Trail by traveling for 3,000 feet (910 m) along a bank of the Run while passing beneath the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway (I-395) in Alexandria and West Glebe Road in Arlington. On May 30, 2009, a ribbon-cutting ceremony heralded the completion and opening of the connecting trail.