Just when we thought things were finally back on track for construction of the North Michigan Park-Fort Totten pedestrian path between Galloway and Gallatin streets NE, ANC 5A sends word that the National Park Service (NPS) is halting construction again. And this time more indefinitely it appears. See the communication from ANC 5A below:
The National Park Service (NPS) recently paused construction of the Fort Totten pedestrian trail between Galloway Street and Gallatin Street, N.E. again.
During preparations to resume construction, the NPS discovered an underground infrastructure that may prohibit the trail from being constructed as planned. The NPS is surveying the site and considering other options for the trail that could include redesigning the trail or changing its route.
The site will remain closed for public safety as we explore these options.
We know this project is important to the community, and it is important to us, too. We will resume construction as soon as possible.
Please reach out to me at kym_elder@nps.gov if you should have any questions.
Color me confused. NPS does not indicate exactly what this “underground infrastructure” is.
This also makes me wonder if a path/sidewalk will ever get constructed on the south side of Galloway between South Dakota and 4th Street NE. That path should have been designed a long time ago. I was told by someone in the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) that after funding was finally budgeted for design, NPS designed a path that was six feet when it should have been 10 feet. Earlier this year in April, NPS wrote to me that “DDOT just transferred the funding to Federal Highway Administration to complete the design of the sidewalk from South Dakota Avenue NE to the existing DDOT/WMATA sidewalk along Galloway Street NE. We do not have a timeline at this point when the design will be completed.” So design of that path appears to be sitting in a black hole somewhere between NPS and DDOT. I remain confused about why all of this seems so hard.
In any case, it is not clear what the timeline is for next steps on the Gallatin-Galloway path or how and when NPS intends to rehabilitate the area where extensive soil has already been removed for construction. But hopefully the unfinished path will not just become an even bigger mud pit than it already was before this project got started.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 
Ugh!!!!!! Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!!!! It just sounds like a bunch of nonsense. ‘An underground infrastructure’? I can’t count how many times I have walked by it and I haven’t seen any underground infrastructure. And if it’s underground why not just put the path over it?
In the early 90’s, there was a bruising battle between WMATA and the local community groups. WMATA wanted an above group structure connecting the Fort Totten and Hyattsville Stations. The community prevailed and Greenline traffic from the Fort Totten Station to Hyattsville, Maryland begins underground but eventually surfaces.
I believe the Metro Tunnel is the structure referenced, but I cannot say for sure what else is underground at that location. The fill dirt used to retrench the Greenline extension is another legacy of the Greenline construction project.
Hey Robert,
I actually walked the path the other day. The barriers washed away in the rain and it is trampled with foot traffic, so I didn’t feel like it was too unsafe.
The ‘underground infrastructure’ is a low brick wall. There are two less than a foot apart so I am guessing there is some kind of piping or something between them.
I know that Metro basically uses the park for stormwater management, but I don’t know if that explains this delay.
I tried out the bus three weeks ago rather than deal with this nonsense and I actually like it better than the metro so I guess I can survive a delay. But it’s still frustrating.
Please include a thought about bike passages. There is no place for bikes to pass by and it is dangerous, particularly for those of us biking with children.