A ceremonial groundbreaking was held on Tuesday for the new Frederick Douglass Bridge at the site of the new bridge in Buzzard Point. Mayor Bowser, DDOT Director Jeff Marootian, DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, Congressman Steny Hoyer, DC Council members Charles Allen and Trayon White, and Federal Highway Administration DC Division Administrator Chris Lawson were all there and spoke about the project’s benefits. Bridge construction will last about four years with completion scheduled for 2021. Below are some pictures from the groundbreaking event.
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| DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton |
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| Construction crane at foot of bridge |
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| Mayor Muriel Bowser |
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| Congressman Steny Hoyer (MD) |
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| Chris Lawson with FHA DC Division |
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DDOT Administrator
Jeff Marootian |
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| Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White |
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| Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen |
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| Ground is officially broken |
On the way to the ground breaking ceremony, I walked by the construction site of Audi Field, which is still on schedule to open by mid-July. A topping off ceremony was held last month and since then, work has begun on installing the facade of the stadium. Infrastructure work continues on the roads around the stadium, including Potomac Avenue, which will receive new sidewalks, gutters, trees, and street furniture. Earlier this year, Half Street south of Potomac Avenue reopened to traffic where similar improvements were also made to that street. 2nd Street south of R Street remains closed to traffic as work will be done on that street to create a bike lane and other improvements.
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| New street lights on Half Street |
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| Beginning of work on stadium's facade |
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| View west of stadium from Half Street |
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| New sidewalk on Potomac Avenue |
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| Street furniture on Potomac Avenue |
Thank you for the great pictures! Exciting to see this project get underway.
ReplyDeleteSeems like the bridge and traffic circle would require removal of the concrete plant.. Any insight on this?
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know, there are no plans to remove the concrete plant due to construction of the bridge and traffic circle. I'd image at some point the plant will make way for development, similar to what happened at its prior location on the other side of South Capitol Street. The red brick building along South Capitol will be demolished to build the traffic circle.
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