The
Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, otherwise known as the
South Capitol Street Bridge, carries
South Capitol StreetSouth Capitol Street is a major street dividing the southeast and southwest quadrants of Washington, D.C. It runs south from the United States Capitol to the Washington-Maryland line...
over the
Anacostia RiverThe Anacostia River flows for about 8.4 mi from Prince George's County in Maryland, USA and through Washington, D.C. where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Arsenal Point. The name "Anacostia" derives from the area's early history as Nacotchtank, a settlement...
in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
It was constructed in 1950 and named after abolitionist
Frederick DouglassFrederick Douglass Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, (born circa 1818 February 20, 1895) was an American abolitionist, women's suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer...
. In 2007 the bridge was used by 77,000 daily commuters.
The bridge connects at its southern terminus with
Interstate 295Interstate 295 in the U.S. state of Maryland and in Washington, D.C. is a spur route connecting I-95/I-495 and Maryland Route 210 on the Potomac River to Interstate 695 in downtown Washington.-Route description:Although I-295 technically begins at the Capital Beltway , a pair of mainline...
and the
Suitland ParkwayThe Suitland Parkway is a parkway in Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland, maintained by the U.S. National Park Service. Conceived in 1937, it was built during World War II to provide a road connection between military facilities in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, and...
and thus provides access to downtown from those routes as well as from South Capitol Street and roads connecting to it.
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The
Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, otherwise known as the
South Capitol Street Bridge, carries
South Capitol StreetSouth Capitol Street is a major street dividing the southeast and southwest quadrants of Washington, D.C. It runs south from the United States Capitol to the Washington-Maryland line...
over the
Anacostia RiverThe Anacostia River flows for about 8.4 mi from Prince George's County in Maryland, USA and through Washington, D.C. where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Arsenal Point. The name "Anacostia" derives from the area's early history as Nacotchtank, a settlement...
in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
It was constructed in 1950 and named after abolitionist
Frederick DouglassFrederick Douglass Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, (born circa 1818 February 20, 1895) was an American abolitionist, women's suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer...
. In 2007 the bridge was used by 77,000 daily commuters.
The bridge connects at its southern terminus with
Interstate 295Interstate 295 in the U.S. state of Maryland and in Washington, D.C. is a spur route connecting I-95/I-495 and Maryland Route 210 on the Potomac River to Interstate 695 in downtown Washington.-Route description:Although I-295 technically begins at the Capital Beltway , a pair of mainline...
and the
Suitland ParkwayThe Suitland Parkway is a parkway in Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland, maintained by the U.S. National Park Service. Conceived in 1937, it was built during World War II to provide a road connection between military facilities in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, and...
and thus provides access to downtown from those routes as well as from South Capitol Street and roads connecting to it. As a result, the bridge carries commuter traffic from
Prince George's County, MarylandPrince George's County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, D.C. As of 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it had a population of 820,852 and was the wealthiest county in the nation with an African-American majority.The county was named for...
and from
Southern MarylandSouthern Maryland in popular usage is composed of the state's southernmost counties on the "Western Shore" of the Chesapeake Bay. This region includes all of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's counties and sometimes the southern portions of Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties.- History...
. The bridge is part of the National Highway System, as are South Capitol Street north of the bridge and the Suitland Parkway. Major re-decking work was done to the bridge in 1974 and again in 1988.
The bridge, besides being in disrepair, provides a gateway to an industrial part of the city that the Government of the District of Columbia wants to rejuvenate, including the area around the new Nationals Park for the
Washington NationalsThe Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly-built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK...
, which opened March 30, 2008.
The bridge closed for major renovations on July 6, 2007. The $27 million project was intended to help extend the life of the bridge for 20 years until a new one is built. The bridge reopened August 29, 2007.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082800985.html
The northernmost portion of the bridge was lowered to become an at-grade roadway with a new intersection at South Capitol Street and Potomac Avenue. Nearly three blocks of elevated roadway, which previously acted as a barrier to access across South Capitol Street, were removed and replaced with at-grade intersections that will help knit the neighborhood together. Additional improvements included replacing the deck, resurfacing and adding brand new street lights and guard rails.
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