295 Flyover Bridge is now Open

***TRAFFIC ALERT***

New Southbound DC 295 Flyover Bridge to Open This Weekend

First Major Phase of Completed Work Now In Place

Ramp Closures and 20-minute Stoppages Required to Conduct Traffic Switch

(Washington, D.C.) The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is preparing to open the new southbound DC 295 flyover bridge in SE Washington this weekend.  The opening of the new flyover bridge – which entails the realignment of the southbound lanes of the Anacostia Freeway (295) between Pennsylvania Avenue and Howard Road - represents the first major phase of completed work on the 11^th Street Bridge Project.

The flyover bridge is 1368 feet long and rises 68 feet in the air at the highest point.

The opening will occur in phases starting at midnight on Friday, October 7 and is expected to be completed by the following afternoon. Southbound traffic will be shifted from the current lanes to the new flyover bridge.

Project Background / Status

Construction on the 11th Street Bridge Project started in December 2009 and is scheduled to be completed by July 2013.  The purpose of the Project is to replace the two existing Anacostia River Bridges which have outlived their design life; provide the missing connections to the Anacostia Freeway; improve and enhance pedestrian and bicycle access and reduce commuter cut-through traffic in the local neighborhoods.

Approximately 70 percent of the work is being performed outside the current roadway footprint and the phased construction has allowed the contractor to minimize lane closures and the impact to the traveling public. The opening of the new southbound DC 295 flyover bridge will allow for construction to start on the new inbound and outbound freeway ramps.  Once the ramps are completed the next major milestone will be the opening of the new freeway bridges across the Anacostia River late this year.

Ramp Closures and 20-minute Stoppages Required to Conduct Traffic Switch

The traffic shift to the new flyover bridge will require temporarily closing the following ramps starting at 10 pm on Friday, October 7 through 3 pm on Saturday, October 8:

·         The ramps from Pennsylvania Avenue to southbound DC 295
·         The ramp from the outbound 11^th Street bridge to southbound DC 295
·         T he exit ramp from southbound DC 295 to Howard Road.

In addition, single lane closures will apply to southbound DC 295 starting at 8 pm on Friday, October 7.  The ramp closures will allow the contractor to complete the construction work necessary to perform a major traffic switch onto the new southbound DC 295 flyover bridge.

During the ramp closures, the following detours will be in place:

×          Motorists traveling eastbound on the Southeast/Southwest Expressway and south from the 3^rd Street tunnel will be detoured onto South Capitol Street to access southbound 295.

×          Motorists traveling on Pennsylvania Avenue, SE will be detoured via 11^th Street, SE onto M Street, SE, and then onto South Capitol Street to access southbound 295.

×          Motorists seeking access to Howard Road, SE from southbound DC 295 will be detoured to Suitland Parkway and then via First Sterling Avenue, SE to Howard Road, SE.