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Public Meetings Announced for Next Segment of Beach Drive Rehabilitation
National Park Service will share updates on progress and next steps
WASHINGTON ⎼ The three-year Beach Drive rehabilitation project is on the road to success. Segment 1 will be completed and Segment 2 will begin later this year. The National Park Service (NPS) invites residents and road- and trail-enthusiasts to discuss improvements that have already been made to the roadway, multi-use trail and Rock Creek streambanks and to learn about upcoming closures and detours.
There will be two meetings, which will cover the same information:
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Tuesday, May 23, 2017
7 p.m. ⎼ 8 p.m
Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library
CCH Meeting Room
5625 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC
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Wednesday, May 24, 2017
7 p.m. ⎼ 8 p.m
Petworth Neighborhood Library
PET Meeting Room
4200 Kansas Ave NW
Washington, DC
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Representatives from the Federal Highway Administration (FWHA), the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and DC Water will also be on hand to answer questions related to their cooperation with the NPS on the rehabilitation of Beach Drive and other construction projects in and around the park.
The Beach Drive rehabilitation project, which will be completed in four segments, began in September 2016, and will provide a safer and more pleasant trip through Rock Creek Park for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians, while maintaining the historic character of the park. The project includes full-depth pavement reconstruction, which requires excavating the entire area and placing a new gravel base before new asphalt paving; improvements to pedestrian and bicycle trails in collaboration with DDOT; DC Water storm drain rehabilitation; guardrails and road signs; parking area reconstruction and rehabilitation; traffic signal and streetlight replacement; and the rehabilitation of six bridges.
Shortly after construction began, the project was modified to include work on the multi-use trail that runs along Beach Drive. Crews are widening and repaving the trail and planting 300 native trees in the park.
Beach Drive was 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.
Below is the map of the rehabilitation project, color-coded by its four segments:
Project Segments
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Segment 1 (Red) - Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway NW to Tilden St NW - 1.82 miles
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Segment 2 (Green) - Tilden St NW to Broad Branch Rd - 0.34 miles
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Segment 3 (Yellow) - Broad Branch Rd to Joyce Rd - 1.59 miles
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Segment 4 (Black) - Joyce Rd to DC/MD Border - 2.70 miles
Additional public meetings will be held as each segment nears completion.
For more information please visit: go.nps.gov/beachdrive
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About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 417 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.
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Crews pave new gravel base on Beach Drive (Segment 1).
Native trees (American Sycamore, Redbud and Serviceberry) planted along the re-paved Beach Drive multi-use trail (Segment 1). |
