June 12, 2003
Mayor Williams, Rep. Norton, Interior Secretary Norton, EPA Administrator Whitman Break Ground for Anacostia Riverwalk
(Washington, DC) Mayor Anthony Williams, joined by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Interior Gayle Norton, EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman, and National Park Service Director Fran Mainella today commemorated the groundbreaking of the first phase of the Anacostia Riverwalk, the proposed 20-mile network of multi-use trails for walkers and bicyclists on both banks of the Anacostia River. Dan Tangherlini, the District's Director of Transportation, presided.
The groundbreaking, in the River Terrace segment of Anacostia Park, kicks off the creation of four demonstration segments of the trail. Each of the four segments, distributed geographically throughout the river corridor, seek to demonstrate the quality-of-life improvements that the trail network will create for District residents along the Anacostia River.
The Anacostia Riverwalk is a joint project of the District of Columbia and the National Park Service and is a cornerstone of the Mayor's Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, which seeks to reconnect Washington to the Anacostia River and revitalize the neighborhoods along its shores. When completed, the Riverwalk will connect the Tidal Basin to the U.S. Arboretum and all of the neighborhoods both east and west of the Anacostia to its waterfront.
The trail will also create an important regional connection between the Port Towns of Maryland to the National Mall. Additionally, the riverwalk represents a "missing link" for two regional trails being promoted by the National Park Service: the Potomac Heritage Scenic Trail, which follows the Potomac River and the East Coast Greenway, which creates a single trail link between Maine and Florida.
President Bush has included $10 million in the 2004 DC Appropriations Bill for the Anacostia Riverwalk. This funding will cover about half of the overall project costs and will allow the District to commence construction on significant Phase One segments in the spring of 2004. The proposed funding builds on $1.2 million in US-DOT funding which has funded Riverwalk feasibility studies and the construction of the demonstration segments.
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