Massive Road Closure Coming to Northwest DC Thursday; Beach Drive to Be Shut Down for Months
The National Park Service is beginning a three-year rehabilitation project for Beach Drive beginning Sept. 22.
By
Dan Taylor (Patch Staff) - September 20, 2016 12:04 pm ET
WASHINGTON, DC — Attention, commuters near Georgetown: that winding road you take through Rock Creek Park in Northwest is going bye-bye for a long, long time. Authorities will be shutting down a huge section of Beach Drive until Spring 2017 starting this Thursday.
The National Park Service is about to begin the Beach Drive rehabilitation project, which will last three years and will be completed in four segments. The first segment will begin Sept. 22 and will involve shutting down Beach Drive between Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway NW to Tilden Street NW until Spring 2017, according to an NPS statement.
The entire project will take three years to complete the rehabilitation of all four segments of Beach Drive.
"Each segment of Beach Drive will be closed in both directions 24/7 during work," the NPS
statement reads. "The project includes full depth pavement reconstruction, which requires excavating the entire area and placing a new gravel base before new asphalt paving; improvements to pedestrian and bicycle trails in collaboration with the DDOT; DC Water storm drain rehabilitation and improvement projects; installation and upgrades of raised pavement markers, centerline rumble strips, guardrails and road signs to provide safer road conditions for drivers; parking area reconstruction and rehabilitation; traffic signal and streetlight replacement; and the rehabilitation of six bridges."
The paved multi-use trail will remain open for pedestrians and cyclists during daylight hours while construction is ongoing.