Bates Area Civic Association

From the Washington Post via Scott Roberts

See these two items from the Sunday, 11/8/2009, Washington Post on the New York Avenue NE construction.

Note that the alternative routes include Lincoln Road NE and North Capitol Street.

Regarding the projects themselves, I am heartened to see these two projects:

“Traffic safety improvements at the junction of First Street, Florida Avenue, New York Avenue and Eckington Place,” and “Reconstruction of First Street from K Street to New York Avenue” in NoMa.

If you haven’t been paying attention, now is a good time to get caught up.

Navigating New York Avenue
Think the Northeast road is challenging? Wait till spring, when repairs grow. Here’s a look at the five projects and how drivers can reduce the aggravation.
By Robert Thomson
Sunday, November 8, 2009

New York Avenue NE, which connects D.C. neighborhoods and transports thousands of commuters heading downtown or to Virginia and Maryland, is about to get considerably more challenging. The availability of federal stimulus money and the need to replace a couple of deteriorating bridges have set up a long period of construction and traffic disruption along the corridor.

Several of the five construction projects have begun, but most serious effects on drivers will emerge in the spring. At that point, commuters should plan on adding 15 to 30 minutes to their usual travel times at peak periods on weekdays. Between First Street NE and the Ninth Street Bridge, drivers will navigate a gantlet that includes lane shifts, lane narrowings and merges. Drivers traveling north-south across New York Avenue also will find their trips lengthened. Walkers and bikers will encounter some sidewalk and bike lane closings and detours.

Traffic planners are going to use countermeasures. They will increase the green time on New York Avenue, although that will mean delays for north-south traffic. With some notable exceptions, lanes will be closed only at off-peak times or in the off-peak direction. If congestion gets too bad, they say, they will have contractors temporarily open lanes and reschedule work. Still, rush-hour congestion will probably be very bad, particularly approaching the zone between the New York Avenue and Ninth Street bridges.

Modify your commute either by varying the time or choosing an alternative route. Bob Marbourg, the WTOP traffic reporter, suggests that commuters perform a “weekend reconnaissance,” judging the degree of difficulty along your main route and getting familiar with a couple alternatives without the pressure of a workday. James G. Austrich, transportation management specialist with the D.C. police, said Rhode Island Avenue tends to be the least crowded of the major commuter routes in that area.

Check for traffic updates at the project’s Web site, http://www.fixingnewyorkave.com , or at our site, http://www.washingtonpost.com. Project managers say they also will be using Twitter and Facebook to relay information.

Montana Avenue to Rhode Island Avenue to Lincoln Road to North Capitol Street.

— West Virginia Avenue to Florida Avenue.

— South Dakota Avenue to Rhode Island Avenue to Lincoln Road to North Capitol Street.

— Bladensburg Road to Florida Avenue.

— Kenilworth Avenue to the exits for Benning Road, East Capitol Street or Howard Road.

Consider Metrorail and MARC to stay off the roads. The downside of Metrorail is that you’ll have to get up extremely early to find a parking spot at one of the outer stations on the Green, Blue and Orange lines. Most tend to get crowded about 7 a.m.

Seek information about carpooling through the Web sites http://commuterconnections.org and http://commuterpage.com . Also, a ride-sharing incentive plan, similar to one the District used during the 2007 rehabilitation of the Douglass Bridge, is being developed to provide the first 1,000 eligible New York Avenue commuters with $50 a month toward bus, rail or organized vanpool travel.

The projects

By Robert Thomson

Sunday, November 8, 2009

[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/07/AR2009110703073.html]

Rehabilitation of Brentwood Road, Ninth Street and Edgewood Street

This project, which includes resurfacing the roads and upgrading the curbs, gutters and sidewalks, began in the spring and will probably continue into summer, but it is more than half done. “People have adjusted to the traffic there,” said Ali Shakeri, the D.C. Department of Transportation program manager.

Replacement of Ninth Street Bridge over New York Avenue and railroad tracks

The bridge has to be replaced for safety’s sake, Shakeri said. Construction, underway since the spring and almost one-third done, is scheduled to be completed in spring 2011. The effect on New York Avenue traffic includes lane shifts and a reduction in lane width. There are intermittent single-lane closures at off-peak hours, but three lanes are maintained in the rush-hour direction during peak periods. Ramps for the bridge will close periodically.

Replacement of the New York Avenue Bridge over railroad tracks

This bridge is also deteriorating and needs to be replaced. The project, which is about to begin, is scheduled for completion in summer 2011. Of the five, this one will be the biggest bottleneck. All traffic must be moved from one side of the span to the other so that one section at a time can be demolished. As a result, a half-mile section of New York Avenue will shrink from six to four lanes in the spring. That pattern, which reduces the avenue’s capacity by a third, will prevail at all times.

Traffic safety improvements at the junction of First Street, Florida Avenue, New York Avenue and Eckington Place

Of the five, this project will probably offer the most improvement in traffic flow and traveler safety when it’s done. Changes in the traffic pattern and upgrades to the signals will create what Shakeri describes as a “virtual circle” of traffic flow centered on the Wendy’s restaurant. The project, just getting started, is scheduled to be done in spring. This one does not involve lane reductions on New York Avenue. But bicyclists and pedestrians will be diverted at Florida Avenue.

Reconstruction of First Street from K Street to New York Avenue

The design for this project is nearly complete, but it’s on hold pending resolution of utility and development issues in the rapidly evolving NOMA neighborhood. The project will provide a new streetscape, with an upgraded road, curbs, sidewalks, streetlights and traffic signals.

— Robert Thomson