Contact (Media Only): Erik Linden (202) 671-2004

(Washington, DC) The District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) is scheduled to permanently switch traffic flow on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE, from its current configuration as a one-way street to a two-way street from Good Hope Road to MLK Avenue ending at W Street.

The conversion is scheduled to take effect beginning on Sunday, October 8, 2006.

DDOT crews recently conducted construction work enabling this new change in the traffic pattern. The scheduled construction work included the upgrade of the traffic signal at the intersection of W Street and MLK Avenue, resurfacing the road and striping with new pavement markings. Variable message board signs have been posted on site to advise motorists of the upcoming switch.

Letters were also delivered in early September to local residents and businesses to alert them of the upcoming change.

The conversion is part of a culmination of planning achievements that will take place as part of the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative and Mayor Williams’ Great Streets Initiative. The two-way conversion was a change that could be implemented immediately as part of local and regional network changes that will take place through these two programs. DDOT worked in partnership with the local community in planning the switch, which will help calm traffic along MLK Avenue and support local businesses in the corridor by creating a local street rather than a commuting thoroughfare.