WASHINGTON — Traffic gets bad enough in the District as it is, and this
week’s protests and sinkholes haven’t helped. But a proposed shutdown could
make those tie-ups feel like smooth sailing.
A developer is asking federal highway authorities to shut down a stretch of
Interstate 395 — for more than a year, reports NBC4’s Adam
Tuss.
Property Group Partners, based in New York, wants to close 395 down between
New York Avenue and D Street in Northwest for 15 to 18 months. The company
told the Federal Highway Administration that it will cut the construction time
in
half for a $200 million deck over the freeway entrance – a critical part of
its Capitol Crossing project.
The company says that without shutting down the roadway, that part of the
project
would take more than three years and require loud nighttime work, which could
be hazardous to workers. Jeffrey Sussman, of Property Group Partners, tells
the The Washington Post that drivers would adjust.
“People find their way who drive because
they like to drive. They like to figure out how to do it,” he said.
Still, the prospect of closing down a roadway that carries up to
90,000 vehicles a day would make traffic miserable. The Post says that the
exits to New York and Massachusetts Avenues, meaning that access to the
highway would only come through C and D Streets.
Council member Mary Cheh tells the Post her jaw dropped when she heard about
the proposal.
“I just
don’t see how that could work in any way that wouldn’t be a nightmare,” Cheh
said.
The Capitol Crossing project would fill the space over the I-395
corridor. It would be bounded by Massachusetts Avenue, E Street, Second Street
and Third Street. The Post says it would comprise five buildings of offices,
shops and residences. The first building would be finished in 2017 and the
rest by 2023.
The highway administration wouldn’t give the Post any information on the
likelihood of whether it would approve the proposal.
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