(Washington, DC) With construction set to begin on the rehabilitation of the New York Avenue Bridge, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will be implementing new traffic patterns on New York Avenue, NE, between Florida Avenue and Penn Street, starting on Monday, January 3, 2011.

The first phase of the construction will require closing the curb lane on the north side of the bridge. During this phase DDOT will maintain three traffic lanes in the peak direction and two traffic lanes in the non-peak direction. Travelers may experience shorter merging distances to change lanes and turn onto side roads. This traffic pattern will remain in place for approximately six months.

In addition, the sidewalks located in this stretch of New York Avenue will remain closed through the end of construction. Pedestrians and bicyclists will be detoured to 4th Street, which runs parallel to New York Avenue, via Florida Avenue and Penn Streets.
Temporary signs with real time travel information will be in place to inform travelers in this corridor about the traffic patterns and provide advance warnings about current traffic conditions.

As construction advances additional traffic pattern changes will be necessary. The largest impact, scheduled to begin in summer 2011, includes a half-mile stretch of New York Avenue that will be reduced from six lanes to four lanes for approximately 24 months during phases 2 and 3 of the project. Traffic delays approaching the construction area during this period are anticipated to increase motorists’ travel time between 15-30 minutes.

For construction alerts and updates follow @NYAve411  and @DDOTDC  on Twitter.

DDOT’s New York Avenue Bridge Rehabilitation Project is funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). Construction is scheduled to continue into 2013. The long term benefits to be gained from the rehabilitation of the bridge will ease congestion and improve safety. More information about the project is available on the DDOT website, at dashboard.ddot.dc.gov under the Ward 5 Projects Link.