National Park Service announces additional Beach Drive rehabilitation public information meetings

Date: July 27, 2016
Contact: Jarod Perkioniemi, 202-619-7186

WASHINGTON - The National Park Service (NPS) announced today two additional Beach Drive rehabilitation public information meetings to share information about upcoming improvements to Beach Drive, road closure and detour routes, and answer questions. The three-year rehabilitation project on Beach Drive begins after Labor Day and will require segments of the road to be closed in both directions. We hope you can join us at one of our public information meetings:

Thursday, July 28
7 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library
3310 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20008

Tuesday, August 9 (see parking instructions below)
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Montgomery College Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus
Room SN100
7600 Takoma Avenue
Takoma Park, MD 20912

Thursday, August 18
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Petworth Neighborhood Library
4200 Kansas Ave NW
Washington, DC 20011

Individuals attending the August 9 meeting at Montgomery College should park in the East Garage parking complex, on the third level or higher, which is designated for students. A map of the campus can be found on Montgomery College's website.

The rehabilitation project, which will be completed in four segments, will provide a safer trip through Rock Creek Park for vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians, while maintaining the historic character of the park. The NPS will post upcoming road work and closure information, including detour maps, on Rock Creek Park's website: https://go.nps.gov/beachdrive.

The NPS will use Nixle as a tool to provide upcoming Beach Drive closure information to commuters and visitors to Rock Creek Park. We encourage park visitors and drivers who use Beach Drive to register by texting: BEACHDRIVE to 888777 from your mobile phone.

Commuters and visitors can also call the Beach Drive rehabilitation project information phone line for current road closure information: 202-895-6232.

Additional public information meetings will be held as each segment nears completion.

Beach Drive was originally designed in 1897 to provide recreational access to America's first urban national park. Today, there are more than 12 million commuter trips through Rock Creek Park every year, and more than 40,000 people use Beach Drive for recreation every weekend.

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Learn more about Nixle. Nixle is a free tool that allows information to be sent through text, email, social media, and the Nixle mobile app. You can register by using either your mobile phone or by going online. To receive alerts about the Beach Drive rehabilitation project, text BEACHDRIVE to 888777. To register online, visit www.nixle.com and create a user profile. After you register, you will receive information about the Beach Drive rehabilitation project including upcoming closure and detour information. You can opt out any time. Standard carrier data or messaging rates may apply.

About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 412 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.\\n\\nwww.nps.gov/rocr