Contact: Karyn Le Blanc (202) 671-3490

(Washington, DC) The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) together with the Federal Highway Administration has released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)/Section 4(f) Evaluation for the South Capitol Street project. The Federal Highway Administration approved the DEIS/Section 4(f) Evaluation on February 7, 2008.

The purpose of the South Capitol Street project is to transform the existing corridor into an urban gateway to the US Capitol and District of Columbia’s Monumental Core that improves safety, accessibility, and mobility and supports economic development. There are two Build Alternatives currently under study for the South Capitol Street project that propose to reconstruct South Capitol Street and Suitland Parkway and replace the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. The No Build Alternative is retained as the baseline condition against which the potential impacts of the Build Alternatives are measured.  The DEIS/Section 4(f) Evaluation presents the impacts of the two Build Alternatives and No Build alternative.

The DEIS/Section 4(f) Evaluation is available at the following locations within the project area:  Anacostia Branch Library; Francis A. Gregory Branch Library; Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library; Parklands-Turner Community Library; Southeast Branch Library; Southwest Branch Library; Anacostia Waterfront Business Resource Center; and the Westside Community Center at the Matthew Henson Center.

It is also available on the project website, www.southcapitoleis.com.  Public hearings will be held on March 4 and 5, 2008, to present and discuss the results described in the DEIS/Section 4(f) Evaluation.

The hearing on March 4 will be held at the Birney Elementary School at 2501 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE.  The hearing on March 5 will be held at the Amidon Elementary School Auditorium at 401 Eye Street, SW.  The public hearings will be held from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

A Notice of Availability of the DEIS/Section 4(f) Evaluation, posted in the Federal Register on February 15, 2008 marked the beginning of the public review period. The 45 day public comment period for the DEIS closes on March 31, 2008.

Comments may be sent to:
Mr. Barton Clark, PE, Project Manager, District of Columbia Department of Transportation, 64 New York Avenue, NE, Washington, DC  20002,

Fax comments to: (202) 671-4710
Email comments to: southcapitoleis@pbworld.com