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- The Virginia Capital Trail (VCT) (informally, the Cap Trail, or simply the Cap) is a dedicated, paved bicycle and pedestrian trail crossing four counties and 51.7 miles (83.2 km) between Jamestown and Richmond, Virginia — that is, between the Colony of Virginia's first capital and Virginia's current capital, with an alternate end (via an extension) at Williamsburg, the last colonial capital. Construction began in 2006 and completed to Jamestown in October 2015. With the Williamsburg extension, the blacktop ribbon extends approximately 62 miles, and attracted 1.2 million users in 2021. The VCT largely parallels Virginia Route 5, a Virginia Scenic Byway, with its own physically separated, asphalt-paved lane — including on the Dresser Bridge over the Chickahominy River. Its zero mile marker at Jamestown is directly adjacent to Jamestown Settlement and near the foot of the Colonial Parkway — a scenic road linking Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown. The trail, which crosses Route 5 at marked intersections, ranges in width from eight to ten feet (2.4 to 3.0 m) and is dedicated exclusively to non-motorized pedestrian and bicycle use, with a vegetation barrier separating it from the automobile road. Many sections pass through woods, and terrain varies from mostly flat near Jamestown to mostly rolling hills near Richmond, and includes about 30 wood bridges crossing streams and marshy areas. At Varina, near Richmond, the trail passes through Four Mile Creek Park and makes a 3.5-mile horseshoe-shaped diversion around the Route 5 and I295 interchange. At Richmond, the trailhead is next to the James River at the downtown flood gates of Great Shiplock Park. The VCT is a working partnership of the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation (VCTF), a tax exempt organization which promotes the path, and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), which built and maintains it. As discussed below, the VCT was largely purpose-built over 12 years as a multi-use trail, with a small portion near downtown Richmond converted from a previous rail bed. The trail cost approximately $75 million to construct — with approximately $70 million from federal funding and $5 million from state and local funding. VDOT maintains a system of seven realtime trail counters, which received 550,000 counts its first completed year and more than 1,4 million counts as of mid-2018 — with a daily average of 300. (en)
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- The Virginia Capital Trail (VCT) (informally, the Cap Trail, or simply the Cap) is a dedicated, paved bicycle and pedestrian trail crossing four counties and 51.7 miles (83.2 km) between Jamestown and Richmond, Virginia — that is, between the Colony of Virginia's first capital and Virginia's current capital, with an alternate end (via an extension) at Williamsburg, the last colonial capital. Construction began in 2006 and completed to Jamestown in October 2015. With the Williamsburg extension, the blacktop ribbon extends approximately 62 miles, and attracted 1.2 million users in 2021. (en)
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