Anacostia Streetcar Project Starts Laying Tracks
Red-and-gray trolleys still in Czech Republic warehouse
By ASHA BEH
Updated 4:00 PM EDT, Sun, Sep 20, 2009
Move over, San Fran, Seattle and Portland. D.C.'s finally one step closer to getting its trolleys on track.
Crews have begun laying tracks on Firth Sterling Avenue, and D.C. transportation officials say the more visible track work at the
South Capitol Street intersection is expected to start next week.
The track work will cause traffic delays at the intersection South Capitol Street -- about five to 10 minutes in delays as drivers are limited to one lane in each direction through the end of this month, according to the District's Department of Transportion.
The locations of several proposed streetcar stops have not yet been finalized, but officials overseeing the $55 million project
say the beginning of track work is a major first step.
"The tracks are actually going in," Gabe Klein, the District's director of transportation, told The Washington Post. "As people see that, they'll realize we're getting closer than we've ever been."
The District had wanted streetcars running through Anacostia by the end of this year. Officials had even bought three trolleys almost three years ago for $10 million, but they're still sitting in a warehouse in the Czech Republic, where they were built.
Klein now says the District might have some part of the Anacostia line running in 2012.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Washington
First Published: Sep 20, 2009 2:50 PM EDT
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