Media Contact: John Lisle (DDOT) at (202) 671-2004; Bryon Johnston, 11th Street Bridge Project (410) 924-2850

(Washington, DC) The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced today the start of construction on the 11th Street Bridge Project. Announced by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty as a major achievement earlier this year, the $300 million project is DDOT’s largest and first design-build-to-budget bridge for the District. The project is expected to provide better connections to existing freeways and an additional local bridge creating more convenient connections for neighborhoods east and west of the Anacostia River. Construction contractors are set to start pile driving in the Anacostia River for the foundations of three new bridges – one for local, and two for freeway traffic.

Barrier placement, off-roadway clearing and drainage work also will begin adjacent to both directions of DC 295. Eventually, land-side pile driving on both sides of the river will be required to construct new connecting ramps for planned highway improvements.

“This project is a transportation game-changer for the District of Columbia,” said DDOT Director Gabe Klein. “These bridges will better connect two key freeways and our communities on both sides of the Anacostia River, provide important options for multi-modal transportation and be a linchpin in the ultimate renaissance of the Anacostia Waterfront.”

Scheduled for completion in mid-2013, the $300 million project will:

• Improve mobility by providing separate freeway and local traffic connections to both directions of DC 295, the Southeast-Southwest Freeway and local streets on both sides of the Anacostia River
• Provide a shared path for pedestrians and bicycles, as well as rails to allow future streetcar connections
• Replace the existing functionally deficient and structurally obsolete bridges
• Provide an additional alternate evacuation route from our Nation’s Capital, and
• Include new trail connections, improved drainage and other environmental investments

The new bridges will be constructed between the existing bridges, which are projected to serve almost 180,000 vehicles per day by 2030, allowing contractors to maintain all existing travel movements and 12-foot travel lanes except during approved work in off-peak travel hours.

DDOT has worked closely with local residents, civic associations and community groups throughout the process during the planning, design, and construction of these bridges. Contractors will practice good neighbor construction by establishing designated haul routes, having most materials delivered via the river or highway, controlling dust, and requiring that workers not park on neighborhood streets. Noise and vibration levels will be monitored at all times.

For more information, visit theanacostiawaterfront.com/11thstreet.jsp or email ddotpublicaffairs@dc.gov.