(Washington, DC) This week the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) began installing a temporary one-lane bridge over Soapstone Creek that will allow for the reopening of Broad Branch Road, NW between Brandywine and Ridge Roads in approximately two weeks.

Broad Branch was closed in mid-April, as a safety precaution, after a culvert collapsed and created a sinkhole in the roadway.

The temporary bridge being installed is a one-lane bridge that is 70-feet long and 13-feet wide and will only allow for travel in one direction at a time. DDOT will also install signage and pavement markings for the new traffic pattern.

The temporary bridge will remain in place while the design plans for the replacement of the culvert are finalized and vetted through multiple local and federal agencies for approval.

DDOT anticipates it will remove the temporary bridge sometime in late July to begin the replacement and repairs of the culvert and roadway. The construction will take approximately 30 days to complete. Following the construction DDOT plans to reopen Broad Branch Road by mid September.

At this time, until the temporary bridge opens, DDOT wants to remind residents, including pedestrians and bicyclists, to please refrain from using the roadway in the area between Brandywine Street and Ridge Road. It has been observed that users are climbing over the jersey barriers and walking over the steel plates. This is potentially dangerous due to the instability of the roadway and the staging of construction materials.