Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge To Open This Week, Ahead Of Schedule
Hat tip, WUSA
You can see this bridge from miles away. It is unlike any other in DC.
AUG 18, 11:09 AM UPDATED SEP 6, 9:22 AM
Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge To Open This Week, Ahead Of Schedule
Jordan Pascale https://twitter.com/jwpascale
The new Frederick Douglass Bridge under construction in February, 2020, seen from the Anacostia River.
Jacob Fenston / DCist
Cars, pedestrians and cyclists will be able to cross the new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge that spans the Anacostia River starting this week, nearly a month ahead of the previously announced October opening date.
District officials are hosting a celebration for the new bridge on Labor Day, complete with a 5k run. A ribbon-cutting is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Tuesday, and the bridge will open to traffic on Friday. ..But the whole project, which includes large, oval roundabouts on both the Navy Yard and Anacostia side won’t be done until next spring.
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The project was announced in 2012 and construction began in 2018. ... The six-lane bridge is one lane wider than its predecessor, a 70-year-old span that carried 77,000 vehicles a day but had long been deemed structurally deficient. ... The bridge also features two piers that appear to float in the river and four pedestrian overlooks, according to DDOT. In addition, it has wider bike and pedestrian crossings.
The $441 million bridge and the accompanying infrastructure, including a reconstructed interchange at I-295 and the Suitland Parkway, is the largest DDOT construction project since the department was created in 2002. The entire South Capitol Street Corridor project cost more than $1 billion.
This story was updated to include new information about the bridge opening. Jacob Fenston contributed to this story.
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