As of 10 a.m. today, northbound commuters will have to find a new way around the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, a major commuter route that drops Maryland drivers onto South Capitol Street in the area of the Washington Nationals’ new stadium.
The temporary closure, which could last until 4 a.m. Monday, is the first step in a major overhaul of the 66-year-old bridge. Between now and April 2008, when the stadium is scheduled to open and the bridgework is slated for completion, 19 expansion joints will be replaced, the northernmost, three-block portion of the bridge will be lowered to ground level and the entire structure will be repaved and painted.
“DDOT views this project as other major projects we’ve launched — short-term pain but certainly long-term gain,” said Erik Linden, D.C. Department of Transportation spokesman. “Once our work on the bridge is complete, it will create a revitalized gateway over the Anacostia River and into the District.”
The bridge eventually will resemble a landscaped boulevard, with a new intersection at South Capitol Street and Potomac Avenue. Lowering the structure, according to DDOT, “will provide quality access to and from new development and major employment centers under way in the near Southeast area.”
The bridge work is unrelated to stadium construction, DDOT said, but it is required to meet demands of the ballpark, the Southeast Federal Center, the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters and other new developments in the area.
DDOT has, however, budgeted $18.4 million for improvements to the streets surrounding the stadium — work that sparked a heated D.C. Council debate Wednesday. The stadium project is capped at $611 million, and questions were raised as to whether associated road improvements would count toward the limit.
Kwame Brown, chairman of the council’s economic development committee, called it a “thin line” and promised more discussion. But he did not question the South Capitol Street bridge project.
During the nine temporary weekend closures, drivers will be detoured onto Interstate 295 North to the 11th Street Bridge. Lowering the bridge will require a complete closure in July and August.
At a glance
Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge:
» 77,000 drivers cross the span daily
» Traffic count drops to 65,000 in July and August
» Study is ongoing to replace the bridge sometime after 2011
