DDOT Bridge Bucks benefits are available on a first-come, first-served basis to the first 1,500 qualified enrollees who travel across the Douglass Bridge to and from work on a daily basis. Commuters may apply by visiting DDOT's Bridge Bucks program webpage; those without Internet access may call the DDOT Bridge Bucks Team at 866-922-8257.

To determine eligibility, applicants will be asked to provide their origin and destination addresses and specific commute route, as well as a valid driver’s license.  A Bridge Bucks representative will directly contact applying commuters (via personal phone calls) to confirm their eligibility and to determine what transit option(s) might best meet their daily commute needs. Transit passes, schedules and maps will be sent to participants by US Mail.

For more than 55 years, the Douglass Bridge has been a major entrance into Washington, DC, from Maryland and Northern Virginia (via the Wilson Bridge). During July and August 2007, the bridge will be closed to traffic and pedestrians to accommodate major upgrades that must be completed in order to extend the lifespan of the facility. 

During the full closure DDOT will be lowering the bridge’s elevated northern approach—a major barrier to pedestrians and cyclists that also limits motorist and commercial access in and around the Southeast area.  Nearly three blocks of elevated roadway will be removed and replaced with at-grade intersections that will help knit the neighborhood together. Additional near-term improvements will occur such as paving and painting the entire bridge, streetscape upgrades and installing environmentally-sensitive lighting along South Capitol Street. 

The July-August bridge shut-down follows a series of one-direction-only weekend closures on the Douglass Bridge that began in late January 2007. These weekend closures have been necessary to allow workers to safely replace bridge expansion joints with new joints (joints allow a bridge to flex when temperature changes occur). 

DDOT also will be strategically placing highway message signs listing the bridge closure and detours throughout the region, for the benefit of local drivers, as well as tourists traveling from out-of-town. Additionally, there will be an increased presence of motorist assistance patrols during the bridge closure, located particularly on main detour routes, to help clear traffic incidents as swiftly as possible.

The DC Bridge Bucks Program is modeled after the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project’s Bridge Bucks Program, sponsored by the Virginia Department of Transportation and Maryland State Highway Administration.  In place from 2004 through 2006, during the project’s most intense construction period, Bridge Bucks helped ease commuting woes in the 7.5-mile Wilson Bridge Project area.