The District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in coordination with the National Park Service (NPS) are proposing improvements to the intersection at Pennsylvania Avenue and Minnesota Avenue, S.E Washington, DC. This project is part of the revitalization of Pennsylvania Avenue SE from the foot of the Sousa Bridge to Southern Avenue S.E., which is one of the corridors identified for improvement in the District of Columbia’s Greet Streets Initiative .

Prior to moving the project through final design and construction, an Environmental Assessment (EA) of the proposed action and its potential effects is being prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) , the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations(40 CFR 1500-1508), the FHWA’s Environmental Impact and Related Procedures (23 CFR 771); and NPS Director’s Order 12: Conservation Planning, Environmental Impact Analysis and Decision Making. Additionally, the project will also include the assessment of historic resources in accordance with the Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA). FHWA and NPS are co-lead federal agencies for the project.

In September 2012, DDOT solicited public feedback on identifying any environmental or cultural resources within the project area and providing comments on various conceptual designs. Additionally, DDOT asked that the public provide comments and suggestions regarding important factors that should be considered in the assessment, including the purpose and need. The comment period ended on October 15, 2012. Following public feedback and coordination with FHWA and NPS, DDOT will analyze the following two Build alternatives developed from the various conceptual design and a No-Build Alternative in the EA:

The Alternative 1: Traffic Square Alternative includes the following components:

• Eliminates the left-turn conflicts from Pennsylvania Avenue onto Minnesota Avenue;
• Consolidates green space;
• Adjust roadway alignments for traffic circulation;
• Reduces conflicts between pedestrian and vehicles by reducing crosswalk length and by providing pedestrian facilities;

The Alternative 2: Conventional Intersection Alternative includes the following components:

• Consolidates multiple traffic movements into one signalized intersection;
• Consolidates green space
• Provides left-turn movements in all directions,
• Increases left-turn queuing capacity.

Websites addresses:

• DDOT – http://ddot.dc.gov/PennMinnAvesProject
• NPS – http://parkplanning.nps.gov/TwiningSquare

For more information, please see the document links below. Available are downloadable renderings of the Build Alternatives.