DDOT Street, Traffic and Bridge Updates


In an effort to mitigate the impact of SafeTrack, Metrorail’s emergency year-long intensive maintenance and repair project, the District Department of Transportation is enacting the first phase of its response. Beginning Monday, June 6, morning and evening rush hours will be extended by 30 minutes, or 7 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m., affecting certain bus priority corridors, as well as corridors connecting Key Bridge to the Central Business District, including M Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington Circle, H and I streets and adjacent roadways are connected to the corridors. Temporary signs will be posted advising of emergency parking restrictions.

To help ease traffic congestion overall, last week DDOT began implementing the latest phase of its multi-year traffic signal optimization strategy, in which they will roll out new traffic signal plans for 386 intersections in Northwest Washington, from Canal Road to the west, North Capitol to the east, Eastern and Western Avenues to the north, and Florida Avenue to the south.

The project not only intends to help the flow of traffic, but also “seeks to optimize pedestrian crossing times, reduce motorist travel times, and lower emissions and fuel consumption,” according to a DDOT press release.

As for the Key Bridge renovation, according to an email from a DDOT spokesperson, major work “will not begin for several months and most of the work will be done below the structure. Closures will be single-lane off-peak and DDOT will send out an advisory for those.” DDOT is also “doing minor roadway work, pavement markings, traffic delineators and the installation of traffic sensors” at the intersection of M Street and Key Bridge expected to be completed by June 9, but will not require any bridge closures. “If any of the work affects traffic, it will be for short durations when we put in place one-lane closures,” wrote the spokesperson.

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