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Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway
Washington, D.C.
COMMUTER THOROUGHFARE
Despite this high praise, traffic engineers quickly claimed that Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway could not accommodate the city's rapidly growing commuter traffic. The one-way rush-hour traffic system was established in 1937, but traffic planners soon looked for other ways to increase the parkway's capacity.
Their initial approach was to reduce congestion through minor improvements to the existing parkway drive. Between 1938-41 the intersection at K Street was replaced with a new grade separation structure that eliminated left-hand turns and provided for future traffic on the proposed Whitehurst Freeway.
Intersection of Parkway and Whitehurst Freeway, 1992 (Jack Boucher/HABS) |
When the parkway was created, Massachusetts Avenue crossed Rock Creek valley on an earthen embankment constructed in 1900. This caused a severe bottleneck where the four-lane parkway drive shrank into a two-lane causeway that had been squeezed precariously into the culvert carrying Rock Creek under the embankment. Safety concerns and commuter complaints led to the erection of a handsome masonry-faced concrete bridge in 1941. The bridge solved the traffic problem and improved the parkway landscape by eliminating the unsightly embankment.
| Introduction | Acadia | Blue Ridge Parkway | Colonial Parkway | Generals Highway | George Washington Memorial Parkway | Great Smoky Mountains | Mount Rainier | Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway | Shenandoah's Skyline Drive | Southwest Circle Tour | Vicksburg | Yellowstone | Yosemite | Discover History |
