WASHINGTON – The District’s new streetcar line will open by the end of the year – not late summer or early fall as previously expected, city officials said Friday.
The line, which will run along H Street and Benning Road, has already been delayed a year.
The District Department of Transportation says the debate over locating the car barn near Spingarn High School and the harsh winter have both contributed to the delay.
The location at Spingarn was declared a historic site, triggering a long review and added months to the project. Delayed delivery of the streetcars from the manufacture have also postponed the project, according to the mayor’s office.
Pedro Ribeiro, spokesman for Mayor Vincent Gray, says that DDOT overpromised on its original timeline.
“We have had significant issues that have come up outside of our control coupled with an overly aggressive time line,” he said in an email.
The 2.4-mile line will cost more than $160 million and is expected to be the first leg of a streetcar network in D.C.
WTOP’s Ari Ashe and Amanda Iacone contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and on Facebook.
