Traffic patterns along Maryland Avenue NE are scheduled to change next week after the street’s newest traffic light officially begins to operate.

The District Department of Transportation is set to fully activate a new signal at the intersection of Maryland Avenue and 10th Street NE on Tuesday, ANC 6A chairman Phil Toomajian told locals on a neighborhood listersev and Facebook. The stoplight currently is flashing to prepare drivers for its full activation.

The signal is the result of “many years” of community members asking the DDOT to improve safety along the road, Toomajian said.

“While the new signal at 10th should allow for much safer crossing there, this change overall should provide for a smoother commute along Maryland Avenue,” he said. “I’ll be monitoring the changes to help ensure that they are successful and don’t have unintended consequences.”

When the signal at 10th Street officially goes into service, the stoplight near the intersection of Maryland Avenue NE and 9th and E streets NE will turn off.

Toomajian called the light near 9th and E streets the “only mistimed light between the Starburst intersection and Stanton Park,” noting that its removal will alleviate frequent stopping on that section of Maryland Avenue.

Photo via Google Maps

Parking on the H Street corridor is about to get a little harder during the next several days.

Sections of the parking lanes on H Street NE are slated to close temporarily beginning tomorrow as part of work intended to help streetcars travel safely through the area, according to a District Department of Transportation notice.

Drivers still will be able to travel on H Street during the closures. But as crews work, drivers will lose access to the travel lanes that are next to the parking lanes.

The parking lanes closures include the parts of H Street between:

• 3rd and 14th streets NE from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow.
• 3rd and 7th streets NE from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.
• 7th and 10th streets NE from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.
• 10th and 12th streets NE from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.
• 12th and 14th streets NE from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

During the closures, crews will put in red striping along the parking lanes.

“The red striping is an important safety upgrade that will address the safety and operational matter of vehicles parking outside of the white line parking boundary,” the DDOT notice says. “The DC Streetcar design-build team will be adding red striping between the parking lane and existing concrete track slab to alert motorists of open-door hazards within the streetcar guideway.”

Drivers won’t be able to travel through some parts of Capitol Hill this month as crews begin to repair area streets tonight.

Sections of D Street, E Street and Delaware Avenue NE are scheduled to close during the next four weekends, according to a D.C. government alert.

Starting at 8 p.m. today, D Street between 2nd Street and Delaware Avenue NE is slated to close to traffic. The closure will block 1st Street NE at its intersection with D Street.

D Street might open by the end of the day Saturday. But the closure could run until Sunday.

“The plan is to mill the streets Friday night into Saturday morning, pave the street on Saturday, and if there is time, stripe the street. Otherwise, the striping will occur on Sunday,” the alert said. “Once the paint is dry, the street will be reopened. If weather causes delay, work will push the schedule back a weekend.”

The other closures are expected to follow the same repair schedule during the following three weekends.

Those scheduled closures are:

D Street between 1st Street NE and Louisiana Avenue NW from Aug. 14 to 16. The closure will block Delaware Avenue NE where it intersects with D Street.

E Street between Columbus Circle and North Capitol Street NE from Aug. 21 to 23.

Image via AlertDC

Massachusetts Avenue NW near I-395 will be off limits to car drivers for several hours this weekend due to construction work on the Capitol Crossing development.

Numerous partial and full street closures are scheduled for Massachusetts Avenue and H Street NW between 2nd and 4th streets for the duration of August, including this weekend, according to the D.C. Department of Transportation. The construction will bring:

• Full street closures on Massachusetts Avenue between 2nd and 4th streets from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
• Full street closures on Massachusetts Avenue between 2nd and 4th streets, and H Street between Massachusetts Avenue and 4th Street, on Mondays and Tuesdays from 7 p.m. to midnight.
• Occasional weekday single and double-lane closures on Massachusetts Avenue and H Street from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Any other closures in the area this month will be announced as they occur, DDOT spokeswoman Michelle Phipps-Evans said.

DDOT and Property Group Partners are working on the installation of a high-voltage electric line, as part of the Capitol Crossing development over I-395.

The development’s first building at 200 Massachusetts Ave. is expected to be finished in 2017. Construction on Capitol Crossing’s four other buildings is slated to conclude in 2019.

Photo via Google Maps

Motorists and cyclists planning to travel near Union Station this weekend may need to consider a new route.

The block of First Street NE between G Street and Massachusetts Avenue NE, adjacent to Union Station, will be closed for reconstruction work this weekend, according to the District Department of Transportation.

DDOT will close both lanes on Friday from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. The closure times will repeat Saturday and Sunday nights, weather permitting.

Signs will direct motorists around the block via North Capitol Street. But drivers are advised to find alternative routes.

DDOT predicts moderate-to-heavy delays in the area.

Photos via Google Maps

A new traffic light is set to arrive in Northeast Capitol Hill in the coming weeks, a neighborhood leader said yesterday.

The four-way signal is expected to replace two stop signs at Maryland Avenue and 10th Street NE in August, ANC 6A Vice Chairman J. Omar Mahmud told locals at a community meeting. But he said the District Department of Transportation has yet to release an exact date for the light’s installation.

Currently, drivers who approach the intersection on Maryland Avenue only have to stop there if pedestrians are present. Otherwise, drivers only are required to stop at the intersection if they come up to it from 10th Street.

The intersection, which is near a playground, is “unsafe,” Mahmud said.

“We’re happy to hear there’s finally a date set for doing the signal work at 10th and Maryland,” said Mahmud, who is a co-chairman of ANC 6A’s transportation committee.

Photo via Google Maps

Drivers who use I-395, H Street NW and Massachusetts Avenue NW may need to reconsider travel near the Capitol Crossing development construction during the next two months.

Massachusetts Avenue and H Street will close between 2nd and 4th streets NW starting today, every Monday and Tuesday through July, according to the District Department of Transportation. The closures will run from 7 p.m. to midnight.

Massachusetts Avenue also will lose lanes to closures on weekends, and occasionally weekdays, through July.

“Traffic delays are very likely to occur,” DDOT said.

Drivers heading north on I-395 also won’t be able to get off at Massachusetts Avenue NW for the next two weekends.

The 2nd Street NW off-ramp of I-395 to Massachusetts Avenue will close this Saturday and Sunday and next Saturday and Sunday, according to DDOT. With access to the ramp blocked, crews will demolish a retaining wall in the area as part of the Capitol Crossing development construction.

The closures will begin at 7 a.m. each of the Saturdays and end by 5 a.m. the following Mondays.

DDOT urges drivers to exit I-395 at either D Street NW or New York Avenue NW during those times.

Drivers can expect “heavy congestion and delays” in the area, according to DDOT.

Last month, Mayor Muriel Bowser urged locals to be patient as crews work to build Capitol Crossing.

“We invite all of our neighbors and commuters to pardon the dust while we’re making progress,” she said.

(Updated at 3:25 p.m.) Officials have closed a street east of the Capitol because of a water main break.

Second Street SE is closed between East Capitol Street and Independence Avenue, near the Library of Congress.

A steady stream of water was flowing there this afternoon.

A 12-inch water main burst earlier today, DC Water spokeswoman Pamela Mooring said. Repairs are set to begin at 7 p.m. and continue for six to eight hours, until as late as 3 a.m. It won’t be clear until repairs begin whether anyone’s service will be disrupted tonight or early into tomorrow morning.

The Library of Congress was open as of 2:50 p.m. and had running water.

The street closure is expected to be in effect overnight, according to the Senate Sergeant at Arms.

Drivers on Capitol Hill could have a difficult time traversing the neighborhood this weekend, as runners take the streets for the Capitol Hill Classic.

The annual 10K, 3K and fun run will close several streets to traffic Sunday morning, according to the Capitol Hill Classic’s website.

Streets closed for the 10K include:

• C Street NE from 5th Street NE to 4th Street NE.
• Maryland Avenue NE from 4th Street NE to 2nd Street NE.
• Constitution Avenue NE from 2nd Street NE to 1st Street NE.
• 1st Street NE from Constitution Avenue NE to Independence Avenue SE.
• Independence Avenue SE from 1st Street SE to 3rd Street SE.
• 3rd Street SE from Independence Avenue SE to East Capitol Street SE.
• East Capitol Street SE from 3rd Street SE to 22nd Street NE.
• 22nd Street NE from East Capitol Street SE to the entrance to RFK Stadium parking lots 6 and 7.

Streets closed for the 3K include:

• 4th Street NE from C Street NE to East Capitol Street SE.
• East Capitol Street SE from 3rd Street NE to 12th Street NE.
• 3rd Street NE from East Capitol Street SE to Maryland Avenue NE.
• Maryland Avenue NE from 3rd Street NE to C Street NE.

For the fun run, 4th, 6th and N streets NE around Stanton Park will be closed.

Closures likely will start at 8 a.m. All the streets are expected to reopen by about 11:30 a.m.

Maryland Avenue NE has a new camera to catch speeders.

The Metropolitan Police Department installed the camera on the 700 block of Maryland Avenue, near the Northeast Neighborhood Library. The device will monitor cars driving on the street’s southwest-bound lanes, which have a speed limit of 25 miles per hour.

Police won’t start writing speeding tickets until June, however. Starting today, speeders only will receive warnings, until a 30-day education phase is over.

The devices are among six new speed cameras that police revealed Friday. The Maryland Avenue camera is the only new one in MPD’s First District, which includes Capitol Hill and Near Northeast

The First District now has more than two dozen of the devices, including cameras on the 600 and 1200 blocks of Maryland Avenue NE.

Photo via Google Maps

A charity walk is coming to Navy Yard this weekend and it might tie up traffic.

The March of Dimes “March for Babies” will block intersections around Nationals Park and Yards Park Saturday morning. From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., marchers will walk in a three-mile loop that begins and ends at the ballpark.

The walkers are expected to remain on sidewalks. But they could hold up traffic as they cross streets.

Drivers should expect delays at the intersections of Potomac Avenue and 1st Street SE, 3rd and Tingey streets SE, Tingey and N streets SE, and N and 1st streets SE, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

The March for Babies raises money to help mothers deliver healthy children. March of Dimes has received more than $320,000 in donations for the walk so far, according to its website. They’re looking to raise more than $508,000.

March of Dimes still is registering walkers online.

Photo via March of Dimes

(Updated at 4:05 p.m.) Two people were injured in a car crash in Rosedale that’s left an SUV flipped onto its roof.

The collision occurred before 3 p.m. at 19th and E streets NE, near the Rosedale Recreation Center, police said.

D.C Fire and E.M.S. arrived on the scene about 2:55 p.m. and transported two passengers to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, a spokesman said.

At least one of the people injured was in the overturned vehicle, officer Paul Metcalf said.

The intersection where the crash happened was closed to traffic from about 3 to 4 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Jade Stone

The eastbound lanes of the East Capitol Street Bridge over the Anacostia River will close next week for more than two days.

Drivers looking to cross the bridge from RFK Stadium and Hill East will have to take a different route from 9 p.m. next Friday to the following Monday at 5 a.m., the District Department of Transportation announced this week.

DDOT will divert drivers on East Capitol Street to Benning Road NE to cross the Anacostia River.

The bridge, also known as the Whitney Young Bridge, will undergo bridge preservation and repair work, DDOT said.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Antony-22

Drivers on South Capitol Street will have to watch out for new speed cameras near Nationals Park, police said yesterday.

The cameras will look for speeders on the 1400 block of South Capitol Street in Southeast and Southwest. The speed limit in the area is 25 miles per hour.

Police won’t start writing speeding tickets until next month, however. Starting today, speeders only will receive warnings, until a 30-day education phase is over.

The devices are among six new speed cameras that police disclosed Sunday. The South Capitol Street cameras are the only new ones in the Metropolitan Police Department’s First District, which includes Navy Yard and Capitol Hill.

MPD now has more than two dozen speed cameras in the First District.

Photo via Flickr/spacedust2019