A two-year project to renovate the 14th Street Bridge is slated to begin at the end of the morning rush today, kicking off months of shifting traffic patterns — and expected backups — on the heavily traveled commuter route between Virginia and the District.
District Department of Transportation officials urge those who drive across the 14th Street Bridge to consider alternatives:» Carpool across the HOV bridge. No work is occurring on the high-occupancy vehicle bridge, so those who form a car pool or take commuter buses can avoid the construction zone. » Take public transit. Metro and Virginia Railway Express offer train service from Virginia into the District.» Shift workday. Ask employers about shifting work schedules to a compressed workweek or alternative work hours that miss the morning rush-hour commutes.» Take a detour. Officials suggest drivers take the Woodrow Wilson Bridge instead, which runs six miles to the south.
Commuters can sign up for traffic alerts via e-mail or Twitter. For more details, including maps of lane closures, visit 14streetbridgeconstruction.com or call 202-673-6813.
Carrying a daily load of about 200,000 vehicles, plus Metrorail and freight trains, the five spans that make up the 14th Street Bridge are the busiest routes in and out of the District. Some observers are warning that the $27 million project will become an even bigger headache for morning commuters who currently battle traffic.
“The 14th Street Bridge is one of the toughest commutes in our region already,” said Lon Anderson, a spokesman for the drivers advocacy group AAA Mid-Atlantic. ”It’s just not going to be fun for anybody.”
The bulk of the renovations will hit drivers who are headed inbound in the morning commute from Virginia. They could face tie-ups for as long as a year. But District officials say the 59-year-old bridge needs the work after suffering decades of wear and tear resulting in potholes and deterioration of the piers supporting the spans.
Unless it is pouring rain, District Department of Transportation spokesman John Lisle said, the initial work today will run from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. to prepare the northbound road by re-striping the lanes and installing barriers for the lane shifts. That work will continue through the week.
Then the first phase of construction will begin, with the far right lane of the northbound span closed and the rest of the lanes shifted to the left for an estimated three months. Crews then will work lane by lane in monthlong stints for the remaining seven phases.
DDOT plans to keep four lanes of the northbound span moving during commuting times, but officials warn that they will close some lanes temporarily during non-rush hour. Additional lanes could be closed overnight or on weekends.
Pedestrians and bicyclists also will be affected, with paths on the bridge closing temporarily on occasion.
Although D.C. officials have been criticized for not giving more notice about the plans, they say they are trying to create as little effect on drivers as possible, working with Virginia and federal officials on informing drivers about changes through electronic signs, e-mail alerts and a Web site.
