DDOT Ward 7 and 8 project updates

DDOT recently presented status updates on projects in Ward 7 and Ward 8, Below are some of the bike-relevant highlights not covered elsewhere:

• The status of the South Capital Street Trail is listed as "continuing preliminary/conceptual design".
• The Oxon Run Trail is going through the final design phase, to be completed in August 2015. Construction is anticipated in 2016-2017. (more on this later)
• The Anacostia Riverwalk Trail's Kenilworth section should be completed in spring 2016. Though there are some other parts of this section that will be completed later.
• The Benning Road Transportation Improvements project, which should improve biking in the corridor, is scheduled to produce a final NEPA decision document this year.  
• The 11th Street Bridges project will wrap up this summer. I don't know if this will include a bike facility along the temporary Southeast Boulevard between 11th and Pennsylvania or not, but turning this into a Boulevard with bike facilities appears to be part of a separate project. The last piece of the bridge path, down to the east side Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, is being built as part of DC Water's Mother of All Tunnels project. 
• While not necessarily bike related, there's a pretty cool project to retrofit several streets with Low Impact Developments that absorb stormwater. These including Fitch Place and the Fort Dupont &Q intersection in Ward 7; Erie Street in Ward 8 and E. Beach Drive in Ward 4 with Biorention bulbouts and other green improvements. The Oxon Run Green streets construction will do similar things. 
• DDOT is in the process of repairing 6 bridges over Watts Branch, most of which interact with the Marvin Gaye Park Trail in one way or another. Improvements include new deck, wider sidewalks, replaced guardrails and upgraded sidewalk ramps.
• Sheriff Road NE and 49th Street NE are undergoing traffic calming and safety improvements which will wrap up early in 2015. These should include sharrows on both streets with bike lanes and bike boxes on 49th near Sheriff. Widened medians and curb extensions should slow traffic. 

Comments

[Greenbelt]

Great reporting. This is the kind of nuts and bolts reporting that affects people's lives but isn't commonly considered news and isn't reported widely.

[DAR]

I really wish the South Capitol St. Trail would be sped up, or provide more detailed updates.