The DC Streetcar May Run to Benning Road Metro in 2026

• December 15th 2021

by Nena Perry-Brown

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While the road to an extension of the DC streetcar has not been smooth, the project may get back on track next year.

On Tuesday, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) released the final design for a project that would not only extend and add five stops to the streetcar, but would also rehabilitate or replace three bridges and add streetscape and intersection improvements along Benning Road between Oklahoma and Central Avenues NE.

The agency expects to bring a contractor on board to begin working on utility relocations along the route next spring or summer, enabling full construction and delivery of the streetcar extension in 2026.

The new leg of the streetcar would run along a shared median lane. New stops would be created at Kingman Island (map), Benning Road and 34th Street NE (map), Benning Road and 39th Street NE (map), Benning Road and 42nd Street NE (map), and Benning Road Metro station (map). The latter terminus station was recently redesigned to create a plaza at the station entrance parallel to East Capitol Street NE. 

The bridge over Kingman Lake and the Ethel Kennedy Bridge would both be rehabbed, adding guarded sidewalks on either side of the former and a guarded sidewalk and shared use path on either side of the latter.

The Lorraine Whitlock Memorial Bridge over I-295 would be replaced entirely, also including a sidewalk on one side and a shared use path on the other with parapets guarding either side. There would also be some improvements to reconfigure the connections between Benning Road and I-295, including new ramps.

DDOT is holding another public meeting on the Benning Road project this evening.

Related Post:

• The 2 Million Square Feet of Development Proposed for Benning Road and Minnesota Avenue

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the-dc-streetcar-may-run-to-benning-road-metro-in-2026/19058.