|
Just announced by DDOT. Starburst intersection construction nearing an end... Normal Traffic Patterns To Be Restored In Starburst Intersection The District Department of Transportation will restore most normal traffic patterns in the Starburst intersection of Northeast DC on Thursday, April 22, 2010, and at the same time, launch a major push to complete construction of the Starburst Plaza. The traffic-pattern restoration represents a significant milestone toward completion of the roadway and streetcar track construction and related work in the 1500 block of Benning Road and at the intersection of Benning and Bladensburg Roads, Maryland Avenue, 15th Street, and H Street, which is known as the Starburst intersection. Final roadway paving in the 1500 block of Benning Road was completed on Wednesday, April 15, making it possible to re-open 16th Street at Benning to normal use. For the past six and a half months, northbound 16th Street motorists have been prohibited from crossing the Benning Road intersection to enter the Hechinger Mall parking lot, and westbound Benning Road motorists have been prohibited from turning left to cross the Benning Road intersection onto southbound 16th Street. In an additional return to normal traffic, work zone signage and equipment in the middle of H Street at the Starburst intersection will be removed because work in that area is complete. The construction push now focuses on the Plaza and on the 1400 block of H Street. Beginning on April 22 at the Plaza, contractors will remove the fence surrounding the area, and begin work on constructing two bus pads adjacent to the Plaza – one on the Maryland Avenue side and the other on the Bladensburg Road side – and installing granite curbs and brick gutters, and building sidewalks around the Plaza site. On the south side of the 1400 block of H Street, the current work zone will be extended around the point where H Street and Maryland Avenue intersect to facilitate reconstruction of the sidewalks and adjacent area. Through the 1400 block, on the south side, the pace of work will increase substantially as contractors extend the streetcar tracks through that block, complete the streetcar track slab and roadway paving, and construct new sidewalks. The 1400 block south-side work is scheduled for completion by early June. The work is part of DDOT’s Benning Road reconstruction project. More information about the project is available on the DDOT website, www.ddot.dc.gov, under the Ward 7 portion of the “Projects and Planning” section. Please call on us whenever you would like additional information or assistance. |