Why are there holes in the ground along Black Lives Matter Plaza?

Black Lives Matter Plaza
Pepco will work to make sure the mural is restored when the work is done. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
Black Lives Matter Plaza
Construction is going on at Black Lives Matter Plaza in D.C. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
Black Lives Matter Plaza
Pepco has dug up the roadway, taking out part of the mural in order to make the upgrades. The work will last four to six weeks. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
Black Lives Matter Plaza
The work will take four to six weeks to complete. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
Black Lives Matter Plaza
Electrical upgrades underneath Black Lives Matter Plaza will take several weeks to complete. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
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Black Lives Matter Plaza
Black Lives Matter Plaza
Black Lives Matter Plaza
Black Lives Matter Plaza
Black Lives Matter Plaza

Underneath the surface of the road at Black Lives Matter Plaza in D.C. are electrical systems that need to be improved and upgraded, which means the plaza and the street-wide high letters are going to be unrecognizable for a while.

Pepco has dug up the roadway, taking out part of the mural in order to make the upgrades. The work will last 4-6 weeks.

The utility company said it will work with the city to restore the Black Lives Matter mural after the work is complete.

Before Black Lives Matter Plaza became one of the most recognizable places from last summer’s nationwide demonstrations for racial equity, it was just a strip of 16th Street NW between H and K streets.

Its purpose, as 16th Street, was to carry traffic and occasionally be the site of demonstrations in the city.

That changed overnight last June, when Mayor Muriel Bowser had the “Black Lives Matter” painted in bold yellow on the surface of the roadway.

Kyle Cooper

Weekend and fill-in anchor Kyle Cooper has been with WTOP since 1992. Over those 25 years, Kyle has worked as a street reporter, editor and anchor. Prior to WTOP, Kyle worked at several radio stations in Indiana and at the Indianapolis Star Newspaper.

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