11th Street Bridges

Complex of three bridges across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. bridges in Washington, DC, USA the bridge in Tulsa, Oklahoma 11th Street Bridge January 2025 November 2019 11th Street Bridges 11th Street Bridges 2015.jpg The 11th Street Bridges from the south in 2015 Officer Kevin J. Welsh Memorial Bridge (southbound span)11th Street Bridge (northbound span) 8 lanes of DC I 695, 4 lanes of local traffic Anacostia River Washington, D.C., U.S. District of Columbia Department of Transportation Beam bridge 234 ft m out 931 ft m out 63 ft m out 86,000 per day (2004) Original Northbound span: 1965 03 18 Original Southbound span: 1969 New Northbound span: 2011 12 New Southbound span: 2012 01 Local bridge: 2013 01 Original Northbound span: 2012 (1965 03 18 2012 0 0 years old) Original Southbound span: 2012 (1969 0 0 2012 0 0 years old) None 38.8719 -76.9895 region:US-DC_type:landmark inline,title The 11th Street Bridges are a complex of three bridges across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., United States. The bridges convey Interstate 695 across the Anacostia to its southern terminus at Interstate 295 and DC 295. The bridges also connect the neighborhood of Anacostia with the rest of the city of Washington. The first bridge at the site, constructed about 1800, played a role in the War of 1812. It burned in 1846, but was repaired. A second bridge was constructed in 1873, and replaced in 1907. A modern, four-lane bridge replaced the older bridge in 1965, and a second four-lane bridge added in 1969.District of Columbia Appropriations for 1970: Hearings Before the Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Ninety-first Congress, First Session, Part 2 1969 U.S. Government Printing Office 1081 https://books.google.com/books?id=1ElRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1081 22 November 2019 ...The twin 11th Street Bridges, which are now in use... In 2009, construction began on three spans (two carrying freeway traffic, one carrying local-only traffic) to replace the 1965 and 1969 bridges. The northbound bridge opened to traffic in December 2011 while the southbound bridge open to traffic in January 2012. The new bridges include new ramps and new interchanges with I-295 (the Anacostia Freeway). The local bridge opened to traffic in May 2012. Portions of all three bridges and their approaches remained under construction into 2013. Phase 1 of the project was completed ahead of schedule and within budget in July 2013.http://www.anacostiawaterfront.org/awi-transportation-projects/11th-street-bridge/ 11th Street Bridge Project - Anacostia Waterfront, DC DDOT Anacostiawaterfront.org 2014-04-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20140330181345/http://www.anacostiawaterfront.org/awi-transportation-projects/11th-street-bridge/ 2014-03-30 dead The local bridge was fully complete by September 2013.http://www.jdland.com/dc/11bridges.cfm 11th Street Bridges Reconstruction - JDLand/Near Southeast DC Revitalization Jdland.com 2014-04-03 Phase 2 of the project, including the conversion of the Barney Circle Freeway into a boulevard,http://www.jdland.com/dc/stadium-panoramas.cfm?filename=drawings/11bridges-phase2-map-201203-zoom Photo Collages Jdland.com 2014-04-03 was completed in 2015. Early bridges The first bridge across the Anacostia River in this area was the Eastern Branch Bridge,The Anacostia River was originally called the "Eastern Branch." See: Abbott, Carl. Political Terrain: Washington, D.C., from Tidewater Town to Global Metropolis. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1999. 0-8078-4805-0 a privately owned toll and drawbridge built between 1795 and 1800 about 0.25 mi km upstream from 11th Street SE (at the site of the current John Philip Sousa Bridge).Croggon, James. "Old 'Burnt Bridge'." Evening Star. July 7, 1907.Burr, Charles R. "A Brief History of Anacostia, Its Name, Origin and Progress." Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington. 1920. The Eastern Branch Bridge was blown up and partially burned by retreating American soldiers in August 1814 during the War of 1812.Pitch, Anthony S. The Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2000. 1-55750-425-3 It was rebuilt, but burned completely in August 1846. In 1820, the privately owned "Upper Navy Yard Bridge" was built over the Anacostia River at 11th Street SE. Also a toll bridge, this second bridge became a "free" bridge in 1848 after it was purchased by the federal government. From the city's founding until 1854, the area known today as Anacostia was primarily sparsely populated farmland. But Anacostia was platted in 1854, and development slowly began to turn the agricultural land into businesses and residences. The destruction of the Eastern Branch Bridge in 1846, however, significantly slowed growth in the area for five decades.Miller, Frederic and Gillette, Howard. Washington Seen: A Photographic History, 1875-1965. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995. 0-8018-4979-9 A second bridge was built in the same location as the Navy Yard Bridge in 1872–1873.Fitzpatrick, Sandra and Goodwin, Maria R. A Guide to Black Washington: Places and Events of Historical and Cultural Significance in the Nation's Capital. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1990. 0-87052-832-7 This bridge was replaced in 1905-1907 by a stronger, wider span (the "Anacostia Bridge") which accommodated streetcars."The Bill (H.R. 18198) Making Appropriations to Provide For the Expenses of the Government of the District of Columbia for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1907, and for Other Purposes." Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations. U.S. Senate. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906. It was this span which the Bonus Army fled across on July 28, 1932, when attacked by the United States Army.Manchester, William. "Rock Bottom in America." New York Magazine. August 5, 1974; Weintraub, Stanley. 15 Stars: Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall: Three Generals Who Saved the American Century. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2007. 0-7432-7527-6 1960s bridges thumb|Photo of the 1907 built Anacostia Bridge with the under construction 11th Street Bridge next to it.|leftthumb|left|The north end of the original 11th Street Bridges in 1992. Replacement of the 1907 span began in the 1960s. A modern, four-lane bridge carrying one-way northbound traffic opened next to the Anacostia Bridge on March 18, 1965 as part of the development of the "Inner Loop" (see below).http://www.ddot.dc.gov/ddot/frames.asp?doc=/ddot/lib/ddot/information/studies/awi/11thStreet/appC.pdf appC 11 October 2005 District of Columbia Department of Transportation dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090502054628/http://www.ddot.dc.gov/ddot/frames.asp?doc=%2Fddot%2Flib%2Fddot%2Finformation%2Fstudies%2Fawi%2F11thStreet%2FappC.pdf 2 May 2009 New 11th Street Bridge Opens Today The Washington Post 18 March 1965 A second four-lane bridge replaced the Anacostia Bridge in 1969, with one-way traffic over the span of each bridge.Cohn, D'Vera. "Suit Seeks to Stop D.C. Plans to Build Connector Highway." The Washington Post. May 13, 1994. The southbound structure was officially named the Officer Kevin J. Welsh Memorial Bridge, while the northbound structure was officially named the 11th Street Bridge.http://www.ddot.dc.gov/ddot/frames.asp?doc=/ddot/lib/ddot/information/studies/awi/11thStreet/part2.pdf part2 11 October 2005 District of Columbia Department of Transportation dead 2 May 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090502054645/http://www.ddot.dc.gov/ddot/frames.asp?doc=%2Fddot%2Flib%2Fddot%2Finformation%2Fstudies%2Fawi%2F11thStreet%2Fpart2.pdf The original southbound span was named for District of Columbia police office Kevin J. Welsh, who drowned in 1986 while attempting to save a woman who had attempted to commit suicide by leaping from the bridge into the Anacostia River. Welsh's body was never recovered, and the D.C. City Council renamed the southbound span in his honor. See: Kelly, John F. "Bridges Carry Bits of History Along With the Traffic."June 2021 medicmedic Washington Post. April 21, 2005. Both were beam bridges: "[The spans] are two-girder systems with steel composite construction and a central drop-in span on pin supports. The main girders are riveted and welded, and both have reinforced wall type piers with granite facing, supported by steel H piles."District of Columbia Department of Transportation, 11th Street Bridge Design Workshop, May 25, 2005, p. 12. Each span was about 63 ft wide. Each bridge had roughly five sections—four sections of about 170 ft m out in length, with a center section about 234 ft m out in length. Both spans were considered "fracture critical," which means that if one girder in the span fails the entire bridge is likely to collapse. In 1956, federal and regional transportation planners proposed an Inner Loop Expressway, one of three circumferential beltways for the District of Columbia.Levey, Bob and Levey, Jane Freundel. "End of The Roads." The Washington Post. November 26, 2000; Schrag, Zachary M. "The Freeway Fight in Washington, D.C.: The Three Sisters Bridge in Three Administrations." Journal of Urban History. 30:5 (July 2004); Mohl, Raymond A. "The Interstates and the Cities: The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Freeway Revolt, 1966-1973." Journal of Policy History. 20:2 (2008); Schrag, Zachary M. The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. 0-8018-8246-X; Rose, Mark H. Interstate: Express Highway Politics, 1939-1989. Rev. ed. Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1990. 0-87049-671-9; Eisen, Jack. "Md. Vetoes I-95 Extension Into District." The Washington Post. July 13, 1973; Feaver, Douglas B. "Three Sisters Highway Project Is Killed - Again." The Washington Post. May 13, 1977. The innermost beltway would have formed a flattened oval about a mile in radius centered on the White House. The middle beltway would have formed an arc along the northern portion of the city, running from the proposed Barney Circle Freeway terminus near Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium to near 37th Street NW at the north end of Georgetown. Two decades of protest led to the cancellation of all but the I-395 and I-695 portions of the plan. The unbuilt portions of the project were finally cancelled in 1977. Several ramps allowing traffic on the 11th Street Bridges to access I-295/Anacostia Freeway and I-695 eastbound remained unbuilt because of these cancellations, creating severe traffic problems on both ends of the bridges.Lynton, Stephen J. "D.C. Plans to Link Two City Freeways." The Washington Post. September 26, 1983. 2009 rebuilding File:11th Street Bridges with Anacostia Freeway flyover - Washington DC - 2014.jpg 250 Photograph of a bridge gently curving over a wide river, with a marina to the right and flyovers to the left. Panorama of the completed 11th Street Bridges. To the left are the flyovers and underpasses which make up the Suitland Parkway/D.C. Route 295 (Anacostia Freeway) interchange. thumb|Demolition and removal of a portion of the connecting span between the north span of the 11th Street Bridge and Interstate 695 (Southeast Freeway) on October 10, 2009 thumb|11th Street Bridges under construction in 2011 thumb|Underside of the completed bridges in 2015 The District of Columbia assessed the bridges in 2002. The Welsh Memorial Bridge was rated "satisfactory" (superstructure rating of 6; substructure rating of 6) while the 11th Street Bridge was rated "fair to poor" (superstructure rating of 5; substructure rating of 4).The United States Department of Transportation uses the following scale to rate bridge component conditions: '0' Failed '1' Imminent '2' Critical '3' Serious '4' Poor '5' Fair '6' Satisfactory '7' Good '8' Very good '9' ExcellentThe ratings apply to the three primary components of a bridge: the deck, superstructure, and substructure. See: Federal Highway Administration. "Bridge System Conditions." In Status of the Nation's Highways, Bridges, and Transit: 2004 Conditions and Performance. https://web.archive.org/web/20081019141845/http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/2004cpr/chap3c.htm#body October 19, 2008 Federal Transit Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2004. Both superstructures were near maximum life expectancy. In 2004, the two bridges carried 86,000 vehicles per day, the second-largest volume of the four "middle Anacostia River" bridge crossings. Without improvements to traffic patterns across the Anacostia River, the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) estimated in 2005 that traffic over the 11th Street Bridges would significantly expand to 105,100 vehicles per day by 2030, an increase of 22.2 percent over 2004 and more than 40.3 percent higher than the next-busiest bridge (Sousa Bridge). DDOT undertook a major study of the bridges in 2004 which concluded that both bridges should be replaced.District of Columbia Department of Transportation. Re-Evaluation: 11th Street Bridges: Anacostia Freeway (I-295/DC 295) to Southeast/Southwest Freeway (I-695), Washington, D.C. July 15, 2009. June 2016 medicmedic DDOT and the FHWA issued notices to proceed with further assessments in September 2005, a draft environmental impact assessment was published in July 2006, a final environmental assessment was published in September 2007, and a decision to proceed promulgated in July 2008.District of Columbia Department of Transportation. Record of Decision: 11th Street Bridges: Anacostia Freeway (I-295/DC 295) to Southeast/Southwest Freeway (I-695), Washington, D.C. https://web.archive.org/web/20160114011454/http://www.theanacostiawaterfront.com/documents/11thst-reports/07.15.08/11thStreetROD_complete.pdf January 14, 2016 July 2, 2008. Public hearings were held in September 2005, December 2005, and July 2006. Because of design changes, the environmental impact study was re-evaluated in July 2009 and found to still be sufficient. The goals of the project were: to reduce traffic congestion on both the 11th Street Bridges and on local streets; to increase the safety of all types of traffic on local streets; to replace the current bridges; to provide an improved emergency evacuation route for the nation's capital; and to provide routes for security personnel in and out of the nation's capital. The project also included a pedestrian walkway to provide foot traffic access across the bridges as well.Jenkins, Chris L. "'Every Neighborhood Needs a Cheers, and Maybe This Can Be Ours'." The Washington Post. February 13, 2011. The entire replacement project was expected to cost $365 million. Demolition of a portion of the bridges began in July 2009 (a portion of M Street SE and I-295 access ramp at 12th Street SE were closed for two weekends to permit demolition of bridge ramps),Thomson, Robert. "Dr. G's Tips." The Washington Post. July 12, 2009. and construction was scheduled to end in 2013.Thomson, Robert. "DC to Rebuild 11th Street Bridges over Anacostia." The Washington Post. April 24, 2009; https://archive.today/20130209011257/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dc/2009/09/11th_street_bridge_plans_get_i.html Craig, Tim. "11th Street Bridge Plans Gets Go-Ahead." The Washington Post. September 22, 2009. On-ramps from Anacostia to the northbound span of the 11th Street Bridges were closed on December 20, 2009, for five and a half hours after heavy snow blocked the approaches during the North American blizzard of 2009, with the snow removal disrupting automobile traffic and forcing the temporary closure of several Metrobus routes which use the bridge."Ramp Closures at 11th St. Bridge." The Washington Post. December 20, 2009. thumb|11 Street Bridges and I-695 Looking West thumb|11 Street Bridges and Martin Luther King Jr Ave Looking West Lane closures on the bridges, as well lane closures and other traffic restrictions on nearby local roads and on- and off-ramps, began October 26, 2010, as the construction moved from the middle of the Anacostia River toward the shore.https://archive.today/20120715132624/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dr-gridlock/2010/10/11th_st_bridge_to_disrupt_traf.html Thomson, Robert. "11th St. Bridge Work to Disrupt Traffic." The Washington Post. October 25, 2010. City engineers estimated that the project was 25 percent complete by late October 2010.Thomson, Robert. "What's Ahead for D.C. Transportation?" The Washington Post. October 21, 2010. The project was on track for completion in 2013.Thomson, Robert. "Anacostia Bridge Building in New Phase." The Washington Post. November 5, 2010. On November 5, 2010, construction crews began driving piles east of the bridge on its northern side to begin construction of the ramp connecting the new bridge to east-bound Southeast Freeway. DDOT officials said in January 2011 that they expected a new connection with southbound I-295 to open during the spring, for construction on the two freeway spans to be complete by fall, and for the local span to open in 2013.Thomson, Robert and Berman, Mark. "Big Year Ahead for Road, Rail." The Washington Post. January 2, 2011. Lane closures on the 11th Street Bridges, small segments of Southeast-Southwest Freeway, I-295, and local streets began on March 23, 2011, and continued through June."Dr. Gridlock's Traffic, Transit Tips." The Washington Post. March 20, 2011. The bridges' construction sparked some controversy. On March 22, a citizens group named "D.C. Jobs or Else" organized a protest of about 50 individuals on the 11th Street Bridges.Ruane, Michael E. "Protesters Demand Bridge Jobs." The Washington Post. March 23, 2011. Joined by D.C. Council member Marion Barry, the protesters said too few individuals from the Anacostia area (which suffers from a 30 percent unemployment rate) had been considered for employment or hired by Skanska/Facchina, the joint-venture construction company building the bridges. Skanska/Facchina vice president Brook Brookshire denied the accusations, noting that 51 percent of the new hires were D.C. residents, the company had engaged in extensive outreach to the unemployed, and that the company had worked with local jobs organizations, the D.C. Department of Employment Services, and the D.C. Department of Transportation to find workers for the project.Brookshire, Brook. "A Construction Project Committed to Hiring District Residents." The Washington Post. March 25, 2011. Brookshire also said the company had provided training to unskilled workers to enable them to work on the project and find careers in the construction industry. thumb|left|350px|Signage on the new inbound span of the 11th Street Bridges shows the connection with I-695, which will be marked for the first time in its history. In May 2011, DDOT closed the off-ramp from the bridges to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE. The agency said the closure would create a larger work area and speed up construction of the new bridges and approaches.Thomson, Robert. "Dr. Gridlock's Traffic, Transit Tips." The Washington Post. May 1, 2011. Traffic was rerouted along the existing Good Hope Road on-ramp through the end of 2011, although this meant the ramp now carried two-way traffic in a single lane each way. Significant afternoon rush-hour delays occurred in the area due to the rerouting. In August 2011, the D.C. City Council designated the 11th Street Bridges, a portion of Southeast/Southwest Freeway, Maine Avenue SW, and Independence Avenue SW "Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue" in honor of the slain civil rights leader. The dedication came in time for the planned dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.DeBonis, Mike. "A Hitch in City's Plan to Honor MLK." The Washington Post. August 17, 2011. The renaming was honorary, and did not formally change the names of these bridges, highways, and streets. The non-local spans were finished months ahead of schedule, and D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 16, 2011, to open the two bridges connecting I-295 with the Anacostia Freeway. The two spans were projected to carry 180,000 automobiles per day by 2032.Halsey III, Ashley. "Two Bridges Across Anacostia Are Ready Ahead of Schedule." The Washington Post. December 17, 2011. The inbound I-295 span opened on Monday, December 19, 2011."Opening of Inbound 11th Street Bridge Should Start to Ease Commutes This Week in DC." Associated Press. December 19, 2011. The span carried both I-295 traffic as well as traffic coming up from neighborhood streets in Anacostia until the separate Anacostia-only span opened in 2013. Officials in December 2011 predicted the local-only span, which was intended to carry not only automobiles but also include bicycle and pedestrian lanes, would open in the summer of 2012. Before the opening of the spans, DDOT received permission from the U.S. Department of Transportation to extend the designation of I-695 to the interchange with I-295.Thomson, Robert. "D.C.'s 11th St. Bridge Opening in Phases." The Washington Post. January 8, 2012. The opening of the new spans eliminated a dangerous portion of I-295 where motorists moving right to access the 11th Street Bridges mixed with motorists moving left as they entered the freeway from Firth Sterling Avenue SE. However, to allow local traffic access to the rest of the city, a set of temporary on- and off-ramps were made to give Anacostia residents access to the bridges.Thomson, Robert. "Dr. Gridlock's Traffic Transit Tips." The Washington Post. December 18, 2011. In March 2012, DDOT also closed the ramp leading from I-695 to the 11th Street Bridges so that new approaches and connections to the new spans could be constructed.Thomson, Robert. "Second Span of New 11th Street Bridge to Open." The Washington Post. January 5, 2012. Ten Metrobus routes were rerouted due to the span closure, adding significant travel times for Anacostia commuters.The routes affected were 90, 92, 93, A42, A46, A48, B2, P2, P6, and U2. See: Thomson, Robert. "Bus Routes Detour for 11th St. Bridge Work." The Washington Post. January 7, 2012. Motorists attempting to reach Anacostia were forced to use one of three time-consuming alternative routes: exit I-395 at the Sixth Street SE ramp, travel through local streets, and use an on-ramp next to the Washington Navy Yard to access the undemolished old outbound bridge; continue onto I-295 and exit at Howard Road SE; exit onto South Capitol Street and take the Frederick Douglass Bridge; or continue east to the John Philip Sousa Bridge. In January 2012, DDOT officials said that even when the third span opened in the summer of 2012, it would not be complete. DDOT said that one of the outbound traffic lanes would not be complete, nor would the pedestrian/bike lane. DDOT also admitted that Anacostia residents traveling into the city would not have direct access to M Street as originally planned. Instead, motorists would confront a dead-end and be forced to take a detour east onto O Street SE, travel north on 12th Street NE, and then make a left to reach M Street SE. DDOT said the final outbound lane to Anacostia as well as the bicycle/pedestrian lane would not be completed until the fall of 2012. DDOT announced in April 2012 that it was on schedule to open the new ramp from the bridge to northbound Anacostia Freeway in June, and the new inbound-ramp on the north side of the bridge (connecting with I-395) in September.Thomson, Robert. "Spring Changes for Nats Park." The Washington Post. April 8, 2012. Southeast Boulevard Since the cancellation of the Inner Loop Expressway, motorists wanting to access the Baltimore–Washington Parkway or U.S. Route 50 in Maryland (the John Hanson Highway) would often travel Interstate 695 to Barney Circle, wait at the traffic light there, use Pennsylvania Avenue to cross the nearby Sousa Bridge, wait at a traffic light on the southwestern terminus of the bridge, and make a left turn against oncoming traffic to access a narrow and dangerous ramp that led to northbound D.C. Route 295 (the Anacostia Freeway). The combination of traffic lights, left turn, and mixing of both through-traffic and local traffic created extensive traffic congestion on the Sousa Bridge during evening rush hour.https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/wp/2012/12/18/d-c-preparing-to-open-new-highway-link/ Thomson Robert D.C. Preparing to Open New Highway Link The Washington Post December 18, 2012 May 5, 2014Thomson Robert At Four-Way Stops, A Risky Maximization of Opportunity The Washington Post August 18, 2011Thomson Robert Piece By Piece at 11th Street Bridge The Washington Post May 27, 2012Thomson Robert Freeway Fragment to Undergo An Identity Swap The Washington Post August 16, 2012Thomson Robert Bridge Ramps Remake D.C. Freeways The Washington Post October 7, 2012 After the DDOT began the replacement of the 11th Street Bridges in 2009, it closed the westbound segment of Interstate 695 from the 11th Street Bridges to Barney Circle in late November 2012,http://www.wtop.com/1015/3134445/Sousa-Bridge-access-to-Freeway395-to-close-Thursday- Freeman Amy Sousa Bridge Access to Freeway/395 to Close Thursday WTOP.com November 27, 2012 May 5, 2014 and the eastbound lanes in early 2013. This portion of was Interstate 695 was subsequently decommissioned, turning roughly five blocks of six-lane highway into city streets from the National Highway System.DeBonis Mike Interstate 695 Reappears in D.C. The Washington Post November 28, 2011 The unfinished "mixing bowl" exchange on the southern terminus of the 11th Street Bridges was also altered. Local traffic was separated from through-traffic by the construction of a bridge dedicated for local traffic only, and ramps connecting the bridge to D.C. Route 295 were created. Construction of the new ramps began in May 2012, with the ramp from southbound D.C. Route 295 onto the 11th Street Bridge completed in July 2012. The ramp from the bridges to northbound D.C. Route 295 opened on December 19, 2012.Thomson Robert With A New Freeway Link, Is It Time to Reconsider How the Roads Are Marked? The Washington Post December 30, 2012 The decommissioned portion of Interstate 695 began to be transformed into a boulevard named "Southeast Boulevard". The reconstruction project, estimated to take 18 to 24 months, raised the roadway 20 ft m to bring it level with the grade of the surrounding streets. The six-lane former highway began to be turned into a four-lane grand boulevard with a landscaped median and pedestrian nature trail. Southeast Boulevard was designed to link Barney Circle to 11th Street SE. In 2013, DDOT published plans to reconfigure Barney Circle. Priorities for the project included improving and restoring access to neighborhood streets, and adding pedestrian and bicycle connectivity to local streets and the Anacostia River waterfront. DDOT also began exploring whether to connect Southeast Boulevard to 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Streets SE.District of Columbia Department of Transportation Barney Circle and Southeast Boulevard Transportation Planning Study Washington, D.C. D.C. Department of Transportation November 21, 2013 http://greatergreater.com/files/2013/barneycircle.pdf April 26, 2014 2 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140429080554/http://greatergreater.com/files/2013/barneycircle.pdf April 29, 2014 By 2014, DDOT's plan involved possible reconstructing of Barney Circle into an intermodal transportation hub as well. DDOT planners said that construction on this project might begin as early as 2016.District of Columbia Department of Transportation Projects Update Meeting For Ward 7 Washington, D.C. D.C. Department of Transportation March 6, 2014 http://ddot.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ddot/publication/attachments/DDOTProjectsUpdateMeetingWard7_03052014.pdf April 26, 2014 10 Streetcar lane The local span of the new 11th Street Bridges was designed to accommodate a lane for the trolley cars of the city's emerging DC Streetcar tram system. The Anacostia Line of the streetcar system was originally intended to travel north from the Anacostia Metro station to a streetcar station at the southern foot of the local span before connecting with the Navy Yard – Ballpark and Waterfront Metro stations.Layton, Lyndsey. "Light-Rail Project Would Link Anacostia With Southwest D.C." The Washington Post. September 19, 2002. Design changes were made in the 11th Street Bridges to permit the streetcar tracks.Nevola, Molly. "Streetcars On Track for Return to D.C." Washington Times. March 15, 2009. In 2009, however, DDOT said the trolley cars would not travel down M Street SE/SW but rather proceed up 8th Street SE/NE to link with DC Streetcar's H Street Line."Officials Tout Plan to Use Streetcars." Washington Times. February 26, 2009. To help fund construction of the Anacostia Line, DDOT proposed transferring $10 million from demolition of the 11th Street Bridges, but put that plan on hold due to delays in the streetcar project.Sun, Lena H. "Streetcars Could Be Running on D.C. Roads by Late Next Year." The Washington Post. July 13, 2008. For reasons which remain unclear, DDOT shuttered construction of the Anacostia line in August 2010.Broom, Scott. "DC's Streetcar Project Halted For Now." https://web.archive.org/web/20120320072238/http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=108815&catid=158 2012-03-20 WUSA9.com. August 26, 2010. Accessed 2010-08-31. Funding for the Anacostia Line over the 11th Street Bridges subsequently fell through as well. DDOT had applied for an $18 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant from the United States Department of Transportation to build the trolley bed and lay tracks along the local span, but the federal agency denied the application in October 2010.Morrissey, Aaron. "DDOT Releases Updated Streetcar Plan." DCIST. October 20, 2010. Three days later, DDOT released a new DC Streetcar map showing the Anacostia Line terminating at the Anacostia Metro station.Kravitz, Derek. "Details Emerge for D.C. Streetcars, Set to Begin in 2012." The Washington Post. October 24, 2010. However, in October 2009, construction began on the new United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters on what used to be the west campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital.https://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/09/homeland.security.headquarters/index.html Ahlers Mike M. Ground Broken on $3.4 Billion Homeland Security Complex CNN.com. September 9, 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20120304182036/http://articles.cnn.com/2009-09-09/politics/homeland.security.headquarters_1_homeland-security-historic-buildings-consolidation?_s=PM%3APOLITICS March 4, 2012 live 2012-04-28 As the first DHS headquarters building neared completion,Medici, Andy. "Homeland Security Further Delays Headquarters Project." Federal Times. February 19, 2012. the need for a streetcar line to move DHS workers from the Anacostia and Congressional Heights Metro lines into the heart of Anacostia became urgent. Federal and city officials also wanted to find a way to link the 8th Street Marine Corps Barracks and United States Navy facilities at the Washington Navy Yard to the DHS campus. DDOT and the Federal Transit Administration began holding a series of public meetings to determine how to link the 11th Street Bridges with DHS. By June 2011, three public meetings had been held, in which 10 alternate routes for the streetcar line had been identified.Khan, Sarah. "H Street Streetcars Now On Track to Run By 2013." The Washington Post. June 30, 2011. In January 2012 the fourth public meeting narrowed the routes down to four alternatives for linking the Anacostia Metro station to the bridges.McArdle, Terence. "D.C. News in Brief." The Washington Post. January 19, 2012. Proposed 11th Street Bridges recreation project thumb|11th Street Bridges from the water in 2018 DDOT originally planned to tear down the spans of the existing 11th Street Bridges, but leave the piers standing. The agency planned to connect the bicycle/pedestrian lane on the new local-only span with two of the piers left over from the demolition of the downstream span. Pedestrian observation platforms would be built on the piers. At both ends of the local-only span, the city also proposed building fishing piers, which would extend into the Anacostia River. The overlooks and fishing piers were expected to be completed in the fall of 2012 or the spring of 2013.http://chrs.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/12-04_CHRSnews.pdf Purcell Beth President's Column: Pure Adrenalin? Capitol Hill Restoration Society News April 2012 2 2012-04-28 However, in March 2012 the Office of Planning within the D.C. Mayor's office proposed retaining the downstream span and turning it into a recreational destination. The inspiration for the concept came from New York City's High Line,https://gizmodo.com/4-futuristic-designs-for-dcs-very-own-high-line-1633538582 4 Futuristic Designs for DC's Very Own High Line Gizmodo 12 September 2014 12 September 2014 Alissa Walker a linear park and aerial greenway built on a section of the former elevated New York Central Railroad spur.http://www.thehighline.org/about About the High Line Friends of the High Line September 8, 2016 The Office of Planning's initial concept proposed building a new 925 ft m on superstructure on the piers, complete with utilities (electricity, natural gas, sewage, fresh water). A self-sustaining public-private partnership would develop parks, restaurants, and outdoor entertainment features on the span. City planners argued the concept would connect parks and trails along both sides of the Anacostia River, provide a "destination attraction" in the city's impoverished Southeast which could enhance retail sales as well as economic development in the area, and provide badly needed outdoor recreational facilities to residents of the Anacostia neighborhood.http://planning.dc.gov/DC/Planning/In+Your+Neighborhood/Center+City/Proposed+Recreation+Reuse++of+the+11th+Street+Bridge/11th+Street+Bridge+Recreation+and+Destination+Concept 11th Street Bridge Recreation and Destination Concept Office of Planning Office of the Mayor. Government of the District of Columbia April 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20140727043152/http://planning.dc.gov/DC/Planning/In%2BYour%2BNeighborhood/Center%2BCity/Proposed%2BRecreation%2BReuse%2B%2Bof%2Bthe%2B11th%2BStreet%2BBridge/11th%2BStreet%2BBridge%2BRecreation%2Band%2BDestination%2BConcept July 27, 2014 2012-04-28http://ddot.dc.gov/DC/DDOT/Publication%20Files/Projects%20and%20Planning/DDOT%20Projects/11th%20Street%20Bridge/11thStreetBridgeProject_Meeting_03-12-12.pdf 11th Street Bridge Project. Community Communications Committee Meeting 10 11th Street Bridge Project Office. Office of Planning. Office of the Mayor. Government of the District of Columbia March 12, 2012 2012-04-28July 2014 The cost of building a new span was estimated at between $25 and $35 million.https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-opinions-are-local/post/making-a-recreation-bridge-succeed/2011/03/22/gIQA9L5yiS_blog.html Alpert David Making a 'Recreation Bridge' Succeed The Washington Post March 29, 2012 2012-04-28 The city made its planning proposal about 45 to 60 days before demolition was to have begun on the existing span. It said it would hold a national design competition in the summer of 2012. Reaction to the plan was mixed. Attendees at the city's meeting were reported to be highly enthusiastic. But Beth Purcell, president of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, called the plan "bizarre" and argued that the city should not delay construction of the overlooks and fishing piers in favor of an unstudied design proposal with no funding. David Alpert, of the prominent local blog Greater Greater Washington, was more muted in his criticism. Writing for The Washington Post, he pointed out that the "recreation bridge" connected two neighborhoods of only moderate population density, and was not easily accessed from either side of the river. He argued that the space would have to have enough activity and importance to make it a "destination" space day and night. He cautioned that the space could easily turn into a dead zone or encourage crime and that the space would have to be connected to the 11th Street Bridges local-only span's bicycle/pedestrian lanes. He also suggested that one or more DC Streetcar stops be created along the bridge. See also Transport Engineering United States References 30em External links "The 11th Street Bridges: What & Why." Anacostia Waterfront Initiative. Government of the District of Columbia Middle Anacostia River Crossings Transportation Study. Justice and Sustainability Associates D.C. 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