Road Project to Ease Sousa Bridge Jams

Bypass to Divert Commuter Traffic

D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams yesterday promised relief for drivers who regularly traverse the John Philip Sousa Bridge.

Over the next five years, the city will spend $250 million to clear some traffic from the congested span over the Anacostia River, as well as Pennsylvania Avenue SE on both sides of the river, Williams said.

The proposal, which last week received preliminary approval from the D.C. Council, calls for the city to build a system of ramps connecting the southbound lanes of the 11th Street Bridge to the northbound lanes of the Anacostia Freeway (Interstate 295). The project will enable commuters traveling from downtown Washington toward the Maryland suburbs to bypass the Sousa Bridge, which offers a direct but awkward link between the Southeast Freeway (I-395) and I-295 north.

The Sousa Bridge carries an estimated 90,000 vehicles each weekday.

"The East Washington Project will move traffic out of our East Washington, Capitol Hill and Anacostia communities on both sides of the Anacostia," Williams said in a written statement. "This is a key goal of my Anacostia Waterfront Initiative -- to restore and reconnect our neighborhoods to the river by moving people more efficiently, whether by car, bicycle, light rail or on foot."

Williams (D) included spending for the project in the budget he sent to the council in March. His plan, scheduled to receive final council approval in June, calls for the city to pay for the project using half of the proceeds from its off-street parking tax, which is charged mainly to commuters who park downtown, according to D.C. officials.

In addition to offering commuters a smoother ride home, Williams said, the project will divert traffic from congested streets; return two-way traffic to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue at the foot of the 11th Street Bridge; eliminate cut-through traffic on Minnesota Avenue and Good Hope Road SE; and reduce commuter traffic on 17th Street and Potomac Avenue SE near Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium.

An environmental analysis is scheduled to begin this summer, city transportation officials said, with groundbreaking expected as early as the fall.