An application to raze the Foundry Branch trestle has been filed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
The permit application was filed with the city Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, according to the March 26 list of permit applications. The application was filed by James Ashe, listed as WMATA environmental planning manager. WMATA owns the bridge.
OVERLOOK: The abandoned Foundry Branch trolley trestle at the southern terminus of Glover Archbold National Park shares space on April 9, 2018 with a pile of heavy-duty plumbing parts. Photo Credit: John A. Bray
The future of the bridge, long deteriorating, has been under review for years, and the Glover Archbold National Park trail section that runs below its beams has been closed by the National Park Service for safety since August 8, 2016, with a plan for a covered walkway unrealized.
“Metro continues to work with all the agencies and stands ready to transfer the Trestle to any one of them,” WMATA spokesman Richard Jordan stated in an email. “Unfortunately, no one has stepped forward.” Jordan said WMATA’s priority is “repairing and keeping the Metro system safe for the millions who rely on it.” (Glover Archbold Bridge And Sewer Limbo)
TRESTLE TROUBLES: Rain falls August 29, 2017 on the abandoned and rusting streetcar bridge at the south end of Glover Archbold National Park, where officials closed the trail more than a year ago because of concern about safety. Photo Credit: John A. Bray
The Foxhall Community Citizens Association, during its November 15, 2017 membership meeting, voted 16-2 to support restoration of the abandoned trolley trestle that crosses the south end of Glover Archbold National Park beside Canal Road.
The resolution backs recommending to the Mayor, DC City Council, National Park Service and transportation agencies that the Foundry Branch Trestle be restored for “use as a multipurpose pedestrian and bicycle transportation corridor from Foxhall Road to Prospect Street.”
The vote followed a presentation by Brett Young, a resident of the community and advocate for restoring the bridge. What restoration would look like, cost and mean for transit across the bridge to points east and west was unclear.
The DC Preservation League, Rails to Trails Conservancy, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, DC Recreational Trails Advisory Committee, and Georgetown Business Improvement District favor restoration of the bridge, with a Palisades Citizens’ Association community survey also showing support, according to the resolution published in the FCCA September 2017 newsletter.
Potomac Times 
I have been working on restoring the Foundry Branch Bridge for the last 4 years. I found out yesterday that WMATA filed a permit to raze the structure.
I did some checking and this is what I found out:
DDOT has told SHPO (State Historic Preservation Office) that it intends to do a study of the trail including the Foundry Branch Bridge area.
DDOT requested a meeting with all concerned parties to discuss next steps. This included DDOT, SHPO, NPS, and WMATA (owner of the bridge)
WMATA chose to decline the meeting and instead file permits to raze the bridge.
SHPO spokesperson told me that the current state of bridge, based on the criteria of SHPO, does not call for the justification to raze bridge. They acknowledge it needs fixing, but they do not feel the state of the bridge is in a structural emergency state that qualifies for demolition. (They said parts of it are structurally sound) Furthermore, because DDOT has expressed a reuse of bridge, there is MORE of a justification for saving it.
SHPO will meet with DDOT for next steps on April 11 and I will find out the results of that meeting on April 12. Also hearings on the razing permit will be May 24 (Rain date will be May 31) and the public may comment on the razing. I plan on being there to give testimony.
Please feel free to ask any questions.
Brett Young
The Palisades