WASHINGTON — The District Department of Transportation says that a portion of 11th Street in Southeast will be closed near the Navy Yard this weekend as crews beginning demolishing an old elevated ramp that once connected the inbound 11th Street Bridge to the westbound Southeast/Southwest Freeway.
The ramp was permanently closed to traffic earlier this month when a brand new, high-capacity connection was opened to inbound traffic. The unveiling of this new traffic pattern was a major milestone in the $390 million 11th Street Bridge Project.
For the demolition, crews will block 11th Street SE underneath the old bridge between M Street and K Street from 7 a.m. on Saturday to 11 p.m. on Sunday. The Department of Transportation says the road will be closed at the same times the following weekend.
The closure is not expected to cause major delays. Nearby 8th Street SE through Barracks Row will serve as a temporary detour. The work will also block the on- ramp to the westbound freeway above.
Once the work is complete, crews are expected to open a new on-ramp from 11th Street SE to the outbound freeway near the 11th Street Bridge.
The demolition this weekend is the next step forward in a construction project that began in late 2009. The eastern end of the Southeast/Southwest Freeway has been closed for nearly two years. The old, sunken freeway will be raised and transformed into a “boulevard” near Barney Circle, and the entire project is expected to be completed in mid-2015.
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