If you're one of the thousands of commuters who use the Eastern Avenue Bridge over Kenilworth Avenue, you'll have to find another route. The D.C. Department of Transportation closed the bridge to both vehicles and pedestrians for reconstruction.
DDOT said once the work is complete, the bridge will provide a higher clearance to interstate traffic and improve congestion at the Eastern Avenue and Kenilworth Avenue intersection.
"It's too low," DDOT spokesman John Lisle told WTOP Radio. "There have been a number of accidents there where trucks have been too high for the bridge and have actually struck the bridge structure."
To help drivers manuever through the area, DDOT has set up a number of detours:
- Traffic heading southbound on Kenilworth Ave. wanting to go eastbound on Eastern -- take the dedicated U-turn at Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave. that routes to the northbound Kenilworth service road to make a right turn at Eastern.
- Traffic heading northbound on Kenilworth Ave. -- can still exit at Eastern Ave. to travel onto eastbound Eastern Ave ONLY
- All other northbound traffic heading for westbound Eastern Ave (across the bridge) -- detour signs on New York Ave/Rt 50 that bring you back to the southbound Kenilworth Ave. exit ramp for Eastern Ave.
- Traffic heading westbound on Eastern Ave. needing to travel southbound on Kenilworth Ave. -- make a right hand turn from Eastern onto northbound Kenilworth and follow a detour on New York Ave./Rt 50 to gain access to southbound Kenilworth Ave.
If those detours seem too complicated, the simple solution would simply be to avoid the area completely. DDOT said the bridge will not reopen until October.
