Great Streets Construction/Transportation Update

On Monday, Mayor Fenty and DDOT Director Gabe Klein announced the substantial completion of construction work on Benning Road, NE, from 16th Street to Oklahoma Avenue, declaring that crews met the accelerated December deadline set by the Mayor earlier this year to minimize the impact of the reconstruction on the surrounding community.

The Benning Road Great Streets Project began in December 2007 and Mayor Fenty asked DDOT to speed the project up after utility-related delays had slowed progress earlier this year. Fenty announced yesterday that the heavy construction was complete and that the entire Benning Road Great Streets Initiative is scheduled to be completed in April 2010 linking it to the ongoing H Street Great Streets Initiative, which began 15 months back. The final portion of the Benning Road project will be the completion of the Starburst intersection where H Street, Benning Road, Bladensburg Road and Maryland Avenue come together. That work will include: the construction of a plaza with a fountain wall; the “Cornerstones of History” mural portraying Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks; and other outdoor attractions for the neighborhood.

For the latest H Street construction updates, check DDOT's weekly update here.

Update: WTOP is now reporting that our Streetcars have arrived in the U.S.