Record of Determination for the Partial and Temporary Closures of Certain Parkland and Public Use Limitations

Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.5, the National Park Service (NPS), in coordination with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA), has authorized temporary nighttime closures beginning Monday, August 31, 2026, and continuing through Wednesday, September 30, 2026, from 11:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., of the following roadways:

• Eastbound lanes of Maine Avenue SW between Independence Avenue SW and the I-395 overpass; and
• Northbound lanes (Mid and East Lane) of Ohio Dr/East Basin Dr SW between Outlet Bridge and Maine Avenue SW.

The temporary closures are necessary to provide for public and worker safety and to facilitate construction activities associated with the Long Bridge Project, including demolition of the existing retaining wall near the 14th Street ramp and Maine Avenue SW. The restricted NPS roads are depicted on the enclosed Map #1. For additional information about detours, please refer to Map #2.

The closures are limited to the locations and nighttime hours necessary to safely conduct the work. The affected areas will be delineated by appropriate signage, traffic-control devices, and/or physical barriers. The closures will be lifted at the conclusion of each nighttime work period and will be reduced or discontinued as soon as they are no longer necessary, restoring public access as soon as practicable.

This temporary public use limit is not of a nature, magnitude and duration that will result in a “significant alteration in the public use pattern.” Other nearby park areas will remain open, this closure will not impact any permitted events, and the closure will only last for the time that law enforcement agencies have determined is necessary to provide for public safety and resource protection. Additionally, these closures only occur at night, when visitation is lowest. Furthermore, the closure will not adversely affect the park’s natural, aesthetic or cultural values, does not require a long-term or significant modification in resource management objectives, and is not of a highly controversial nature. To the contrary, the work that these closures support will support the park’s longevity, they are scheduled to avoid the most heavily trafficked or otherwise visited times, and there are no pending requests to utilize the area to be closed at the hours of the closure. Comparable closures and public use limits are commonplace when necessary to provide for the protection of the park and public during construction activity to improve park infrastructure.

Accordingly, the National Park Service determines publication as rulemaking in the Federal Register is unwarranted under 36 C.F.R. § 1.5(b). This is consistent with hundreds of earlier partial and temporary park closures or public use limitations, the legal opinion of the Office of the Solicitor, and judicial adjudications. Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-1715 (D.D.C. August 29, 2002), plaintiff’s emergency motion for injunction pending appeal denied Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02- 5275 (D.C. Cir. September 9, 2002) (per curiam); Picciotto v. United States, No. 992113 (D.D.C. August 6, 1999); Picciotto v. United States, No. 94-1935 (D.D.C. September 9, 1994); Picciotto v. Lujan, No. 90-1261 (D.D.C. May 30, 1990); Picciotto v. Hodel, No. 87-3290 (D.D.C. January 26, 1988); Spiegel v. Babbitt, 855 F.Supp. 402 (D.D.C. 1994), aff'd in part w/o op. 56 F.3d 1531 (D.C. Cir. 1995), reported in full, 1995 US App. Lexis 15200 (D.C. Cir. May 31, 1995). Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.7, notice of this temporary and partial closure and public use limit will be made through media advisories, maps, fencing, and by posting at conspicuous locations in the affected park areas. Finally, pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.5(c), this determination is available to the public upon request.

Kevin L. Griess /s/ 8/31/2026
Superintendent

 

Map #1: NPS Roadways Closure

 

Map #2 Closures and Detour Routes (Provided by VPRA)