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94-476: Prior to its development, the area known as Congress Heights was forest and farmland. The bay between Poplar Point and Giesborough Point was open water, and would not be filled in and reclaimed for use until the 1880s. The area was served primarily by the Navy Yard Bridge (now known as the 11th Street Bridges ), constructed in 1820. The first residential development east of the river was Uniontown (now

188-486: A "free" bridge in 1848 after it was purchased by the federal government. From the city's founding until 1854, the area known today as Anacostia was primarily sparsely populated farmland. But Anacostia was platted in 1854, and development slowly began to turn the agricultural land into businesses and residences. The destruction of the Eastern Branch Bridge in 1846, however, significantly slowed growth in

282-455: A central drop-in span on pin supports. The main girders are riveted and welded, and both have reinforced wall type piers with granite facing, supported by steel H piles." Each span was about 63 feet (19 m) wide. Each bridge had roughly five sections—four sections of about 170 feet (52 m) in length, with a center section about 234 feet (71 m) in length. Both spans were considered "fracture critical," which means that if one girder in

376-517: A citizens group named "D.C. Jobs or Else" organized a protest of about 50 individuals on the 11th Street Bridges. Joined by D.C. Council member Marion Barry , the protesters said too few individuals from the Anacostia area (which suffers from a 30 percent unemployment rate) had been considered for employment or hired by Skanska/Facchina, the joint-venture construction company building the bridges. Skanska/Facchina vice president Brook Brookshire denied

470-700: A crossing of the Anacostia River at the site of the 11th Street Bridges . The first segment of Livingston Road in Maryland to be paved as a modern highway was from the District of Columbia boundary south to Oxon Hill Road in Forest Heights, which was paved by Prince George's County with state aid as a macadam road by 1910. A part of this piece of highway later became the northernmost part of Indian Head Highway. Construction of Livingston Road as

564-441: A dead zone or encourage crime and that the space would have to be connected to the 11th Street Bridges local-only span's bicycle/pedestrian lanes. He also suggested that one or more DC Streetcar stops be created along the bridge. '0' Failed '1' Imminent '2' Critical '3' Serious '4' Poor '5' Fair '6' Satisfactory '7' Good '8' Very good '9' Excellent Maryland Route 210 Maryland Route 210 ( MD 210 )

658-811: A four-lane grand boulevard with a landscaped median and pedestrian nature trail. Southeast Boulevard was designed to link Barney Circle to 11th Street SE. In 2013, DDOT published plans to reconfigure Barney Circle . Priorities for the project included improving and restoring access to neighborhood streets, and adding pedestrian and bicycle connectivity to local streets and the Anacostia River waterfront. DDOT also began exploring whether to connect Southeast Boulevard to 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Streets SE. By 2014, DDOT's plan involved possible reconstructing of Barney Circle into an intermodal transportation hub as well. DDOT planners said that construction on this project might begin as early as 2016. The local span of

752-479: A line of bluffs extended roughly southward until it reached what is now Chesapeake Street SW. (Fort Greble sat atop the southernmost of these cliffs.) To the west of these bluffs were broad, flat lowlands which provided pleasant views of the Potomac River and the city of Alexandria, Virginia . In 1893, the city surveyed South Capitol along the western side of these bluffs, laying out a broad, grand avenue. Once

846-462: A mechanism to manage their neighborhood commercial districts and a structure to implement commercial revitalization activities that will achieve the stakeholders' goals for the commercial district. 11th Street Bridges The 11th Street Bridges are a complex of three bridges across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. , United States . The bridges convey Interstate 695 across

940-483: A modern highway was completed in 1933, when the highway became part of MD 224. Other segments of Livingston Road that were reconstructed as part of Indian Head Highway were from Kerby Hill Road south to Palmer Road and from the Charles–;Prince George's county line west to Bryans Road, which were both constructed as gravel roads in 1923. The westernmost portion of Indian Head Highway in the town of Indian Head

1034-528: A municipally maintained boulevard west to the entrance of the Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center at the west end of town. MD 210 heads east as a four-lane divided highway through the eastern part of town parallel to Strauss Avenue, which splits southeast just east of Potomac Avenue. The state highway leaves the town and enters Potomac Heights , where it meets the western end of MD 225 (Hawthorne Road). MD 210 leaves

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1128-583: A new DC Streetcar map showing the Anacostia Line terminating at the Anacostia Metro station. However, in October 2009, construction began on the new United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters on what used to be the west campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital . As the first DHS headquarters building neared completion, the need for a streetcar line to move DHS workers from

1222-783: A program created by Congress Heights Community Training & Development Corporation, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization led by a combination of community development professionals and local volunteers. The main street program is based on the National Trust for Historic Preservation nationally proven model The Main Street Four Point Approach which includes in emphasis in the areas of: organization of commercial revitalization efforts, promotion of neighborhood businesses and business districts, design and economic revitalization. The approach includes an underlying historic preservation ethic and provides local organizations with

1316-463: A single lane each way. Significant afternoon rush-hour delays occurred in the area due to the rerouting. In August 2011, the D.C. City Council designated the 11th Street Bridges, a portion of Southeast/Southwest Freeway, Maine Avenue SW, and Independence Avenue SW "Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue" in honor of the slain civil rights leader. The dedication came in time for the planned dedication of

1410-599: A six-lane highway from MD 228 to the Capital Beltway by 1999. MD 228 was extended west from Charles County to MD 210 as a two-lane road in 1995. That highway was expanded to a four-lane divided highway in 2000; in addition, the MD 210–MD 228 junction was reconstructed as the second continuous-flow intersection in the United States. In 2004, MD 210 achieved its present southern terminus at Potomac Avenue when

1504-991: Is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland . Known as Indian Head Highway , the highway runs 20.86 miles (33.57 km) from Potomac Avenue in Indian Head north to the District of Columbia boundary in Forest Heights , where the highway continues into Washington, D.C. , as South Capitol Street . MD 210 is a four- to six-lane divided highway that connects Washington, D.C., with the suburban communities of Oxon Hill , Fort Washington , and Accokeek in southwestern Prince George's County , and Bryans Road and Indian Head in northwestern Charles County . The highway also provides access to Fort Washington Park and Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center and, in conjunction with MD 228 , connects Waldorf with Interstate 95 (I-95)/ I-495 and I-295 . Indian Head Highway

1598-749: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial . The renaming was honorary, and did not formally change the names of these bridges, highways, and streets. The non-local spans were finished months ahead of schedule, and D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 16, 2011, to open the two bridges connecting I-295 with the Anacostia Freeway. The two spans were projected to carry 180,000 automobiles per day by 2032. The inbound I-295 span opened on Monday, December 19, 2011. The span carried both I-295 traffic as well as traffic coming up from neighborhood streets in Anacostia until

1692-542: The National Highway System . The unfinished "mixing bowl" exchange on the southern terminus of the 11th Street Bridges was also altered. Local traffic was separated from through-traffic by the construction of a bridge dedicated for local traffic only, and ramps connecting the bridge to D.C. Route 295 were created. Construction of the new ramps began in May 2012, with the ramp from southbound D.C. Route 295 onto

1786-529: The U.S. Navy in the late 19th century. At its southern end at Mason Springs , Livingston Road was connected to Indian Head by the La Plata –Indian Head road that later became MD 225. At the District of Columbia boundary in what is now Forest Heights, Livingston Road continued north to Atlantic Street, which connected with Nichols Avenue (now Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue), which headed north to

1880-628: The Washington Metro . Most residents live in garden apartments, but there are also older single-family bungalows. Frank W. Ballou High School (rebuilt in 2014) and Hart Middle School serve the neighborhood. Destination Congress Heights (Congress Heights Main Street) was chartered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street program in January 2016. Destination Congress Heights is

1974-683: The Washington Navy Yard to access the undemolished old outbound bridge; continue onto I-295 and exit at Howard Road SE; exit onto South Capitol Street and take the Frederick Douglass Bridge ; or continue east to the John Philip Sousa Bridge . In January 2012, DDOT officials said that even when the third span opened in the summer of 2012, it would not be complete. DDOT said that one of the outbound traffic lanes would not be complete, nor would

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2068-447: The bluffs that began just west and adjacent to Asylum Road. After the war, the 375-acre (1,520,000 m) Barry Farm housing development for freed slaves opened in 1867 on the north side of the St. Elizabeths campus and was rapidly occupied. Asylum Avenue was named Nichols Avenue in 1879 in honor of St. Elizabeths Hospital superintendent Charles Henry Nichols. Asylum Avenue/Nichols Avenue

2162-520: The 11th Street Bridge completed in July 2012. The ramp from the bridges to northbound D.C. Route 295 opened on December 19, 2012. The decommissioned portion of Interstate 695 began to be transformed into a boulevard named "Southeast Boulevard". The reconstruction project, estimated to take 18 to 24 months, raised the roadway 20 feet (6.1 m) to bring it level with the grade of the surrounding streets. The six-lane former highway began to be turned into

2256-489: The 11th Street Bridges to permit the streetcar tracks. In 2009, however, DDOT said the trolley cars would not travel down M Street SE/SW but rather proceed up 8th Street SE/NE to link with DC Streetcar's H Street Line. To help fund construction of the Anacostia Line, DDOT proposed transferring $ 10 million from demolition of the 11th Street Bridges, but put that plan on hold due to delays in the streetcar project. For reasons which remain unclear, DDOT shuttered construction of

2350-574: The 21st century, Congress Heights has received a great deal of attention from the city and urban developers. Nineteen development projects worth a total of $ 455 million are underway or completed in Congress Heights as of November 2006. Among these are a redevelopment of St. Elizabeths West Campus for federal use; a request for proposals from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for

2444-618: The Anacostia Bridge on March 18, 1965 as part of the development of the "Inner Loop" (see below). A second four-lane bridge replaced the Anacostia Bridge in 1969, with one-way traffic over the span of each bridge. The southbound structure was officially named the Officer Kevin J. Welsh Memorial Bridge, while the northbound structure was officially named the 11th Street Bridge. Both were beam bridges : "[The spans] are two-girder systems with steel composite construction and

2538-716: The Anacostia and Congressional Heights Metro lines into the heart of Anacostia became urgent. Federal and city officials also wanted to find a way to link the 8th Street Marine Corps Barracks and United States Navy facilities at the Washington Navy Yard to the DHS campus. DDOT and the Federal Transit Administration began holding a series of public meetings to determine how to link the 11th Street Bridges with DHS. By June 2011, three public meetings had been held, in which 10 alternate routes for

2632-577: The Anacostia line in August 2010. Funding for the Anacostia Line over the 11th Street Bridges subsequently fell through as well. DDOT had applied for an $ 18 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant from the United States Department of Transportation to build the trolley bed and lay tracks along the local span, but the federal agency denied the application in October 2010. Three days later, DDOT released

2726-448: The Anacostia to its southern terminus at Interstate 295 and DC 295 . The bridges also connect the neighborhood of Anacostia with the rest of the city of Washington. The first bridge at the site, constructed about 1800, played a role in the War of 1812 . It burned in 1846, but was repaired. A second bridge was constructed in 1873, and replaced in 1907. A modern, four-lane bridge replaced

2820-625: The Belt Railway, a local streetcar company founded in March 1875. On March 2, 1895, Randle founded the Capital Railway Company to construct streetcar lines over the Navy Yard Bridge and down Nichols Avenue to Congress Heights. The Belt Railway was purchased on June 24, 1898, by the Anacostia and Potomac River Railway Company. This made Randle a majority owner of the Anacostia and Potomac River Railway. Randle sold his interest in

2914-466: The Beltway to northbound MD 210 is via MD 414. MD 210 becomes six lanes again, crosses the eight-lane Beltway, and completes the Beltway access with several ramps connecting with the local lanes of the southbound Beltway. MD 210 continues north as a four-lane divided highway through the town of Forest Heights ; the frontage road on the southbound side of the highway is Sachem Drive. At the north end of

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3008-612: The Capital Railway in 1899, and used this fortune to buy a large section of land known as "East Washington Highlands" at the foot of the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge. This became the development of Randle Highlands , and the success of that development allowed him to create "North Randle Highlands" (now the neighborhoods of Dupont Park , Penn Branch , and the lower portion of Greenway ) In October 1906, The Washington Post called Randle's developments "among

3102-403: The D.C. Mayor's office proposed retaining the downstream span and turning it into a recreational destination. The inspiration for the concept came from New York City's High Line , a linear park and aerial greenway built on a section of the former elevated New York Central Railroad spur. The Office of Planning's initial concept proposed building a new 925-foot (282 m) superstructure on

3196-533: The MD 227 intersection at Bryans Road. No portion of Indian Head Highway was constructed between Bryans Road and Henson Creek by 1944. A section of the highway was built between MD 224 at Kerby Hill Road south of Oxon Hill and MD 224 north of Oxon Hill in 1945. All of Indian Head Highway from Indian Head to Washington was complete by 1946. MD 210 was assigned to the Indian Head–;Bryans Road portion of Indian Head Highway by 1949. The designation

3290-551: The Navy Yard or at nearby Bolling Air Force Base . Congress Heights was the location of the last working farm within the District of Columbia. George Lindner had been growing vegetables on his farm for over 50 years and it had been in the family since the Civil War . The farm shut down in 1939. Prior to World War II the D.C. National Guard was housed at Camp Simms . The facility included firing ranges up to 1,000 yards. It

3384-535: The Sousa Bridge during evening rush hour . After the DDOT began the replacement of the 11th Street Bridges in 2009, it closed the westbound segment of Interstate 695 from the 11th Street Bridges to Barney Circle in late November 2012, and the eastbound lanes in early 2013. This portion of was Interstate 695 was subsequently decommissioned, turning roughly five blocks of six-lane highway into city streets from

3478-427: The accusations, noting that 51 percent of the new hires were D.C. residents, the company had engaged in extensive outreach to the unemployed, and that the company had worked with local jobs organizations, the D.C. Department of Employment Services, and the D.C. Department of Transportation to find workers for the project. Brookshire also said the company had provided training to unskilled workers to enable them to work on

3572-669: The area around the Congress Heights Metro station; and a planned redevelopment of Camp Simms as a mixed-use project, including a new Giant Grocery Store , enhancement to an existing shopping center, and 75 new residential units. The ARC cultural arts center, and the Tennis and Learning Center, are nearby on Mississippi Avenue. The neighborhood is served by the Congress Heights station on the Green Line of

3666-607: The area for five decades. A second bridge was built in the same location as the Navy Yard Bridge in 1872–1873. This bridge was replaced in 1905-1907 by a stronger, wider span (the "Anacostia Bridge") which accommodated streetcars . It was this span which the Bonus Army fled across on July 28, 1932, when attacked by the United States Army . Replacement of the 1907 span began in the 1960s. A modern, four-lane bridge carrying one-way northbound traffic opened next to

3760-604: The area occurred during the American Civil War (1861 to 1865). The United States Department of War constructed the George Washington Young cavalry magazine on 90 acres (360,000 m) of land on Giesborough Point. Two forts, Fort Carroll (near the present intersection of South Capitol Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue) and Fort Greble (near the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue and Blue Plains Drive SW), were constructed on

3854-407: The area, and provide badly needed outdoor recreational facilities to residents of the Anacostia neighborhood. The cost of building a new span was estimated at between $ 25 and $ 35 million. The city made its planning proposal about 45 to 60 days before demolition was to have begun on the existing span. It said it would hold a national design competition in the summer of 2012. Reaction to the plan

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3948-757: The bluffs ended, the route followed existing local roads and curved eastward to connect with Livingston Road (now the Indian Head Highway ) at the District-Maryland line. But because of the lack of development south of Congress Heights, South Capitol Street was only constructed to its intersection with Nichols Avenue. From the 1930s until the 1950s, Congress Heights was an almost all-white working-class neighborhood. Many of these white working-class people were rural Southerners and Appalachians who had migrated from Virginia , North Carolina , South Carolina , and Georgia . Many of them worked at

4042-591: The bridge on its northern side to begin construction of the ramp connecting the new bridge to east-bound Southeast Freeway. DDOT officials said in January 2011 that they expected a new connection with southbound I-295 to open during the spring, for construction on the two freeway spans to be complete by fall, and for the local span to open in 2013. Lane closures on the 11th Street Bridges, small segments of Southeast-Southwest Freeway, I-295, and local streets began on March 23, 2011, and continued through June. The bridges' construction sparked some controversy. On March 22,

4136-425: The bridges, as well lane closures and other traffic restrictions on nearby local roads and on- and off-ramps, began October 26, 2010, as the construction moved from the middle of the Anacostia River toward the shore. City engineers estimated that the project was 25 percent complete by late October 2010. The project was on track for completion in 2013. On November 5, 2010, construction crews began driving piles east of

4230-404: The bridges. The District of Columbia assessed the bridges in 2002. The Welsh Memorial Bridge was rated "satisfactory" (superstructure rating of 6; substructure rating of 6) while the 11th Street Bridge was rated "fair to poor" (superstructure rating of 5; substructure rating of 4). Both superstructures were near maximum life expectancy. In 2004, the two bridges carried 86,000 vehicles per day,

4324-401: The center of Accokeek; that highway heads east as MD 373 and west as MD 810J before becoming a county highway. MD 210 intersects Farmington Road and curves north to cross Piscataway Creek . The state highway continues along the eastern edge of Fort Washington, where it intersects Old Fort Road and Swan Creek Road; the latter provides access to Livingston Road, which switches to the west side of

4418-607: The city, running from the proposed Barney Circle Freeway terminus near Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium to near 37th Street NW at the north end of Georgetown . Two decades of protest led to the cancellation of all but the I-395 and I-695 portions of the plan. The unbuilt portions of the project were finally cancelled in 1977. Several ramps allowing traffic on the 11th Street Bridges to access I-295/ Anacostia Freeway and I-695 eastbound remained unbuilt because of these cancellations, creating severe traffic problems on both ends of

4512-560: The course of a road that has connected Charles County and the District of Columbia parallel to the eastern shore of the Potomac River through Prince George's County since the late 18th century. The road became more important as the highway connecting Washington, D.C., with both Fort Washington and Fort Foote and later the Indian Head Naval Proving Ground, a gunpowder factory and testing area started by

4606-515: The environmental impact study was re-evaluated in July 2009 and found to still be sufficient. The goals of the project were: The project also included a pedestrian walkway to provide foot traffic access across the bridges as well. The entire replacement project was expected to cost $ 365 million. Demolition of a portion of the bridges began in July 2009 (a portion of M Street SE and I-295 access ramp at 12th Street SE were closed for two weekends to permit demolition of bridge ramps), and construction

4700-856: The fall of 2012. DDOT announced in April 2012 that it was on schedule to open the new ramp from the bridge to northbound Anacostia Freeway in June, and the new inbound-ramp on the north side of the bridge (connecting with I-395) in September. Since the cancellation of the Inner Loop Expressway, motorists wanting to access the Baltimore–Washington Parkway or U.S. Route 50 in Maryland (the John Hanson Highway) would often travel Interstate 695 to Barney Circle, wait at

4794-465: The highway from there west to the military reservation gate was transferred to the town of Indian Head. MD 210 was reconstructed in Forest Heights starting in 2006 in work related to the construction of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge. The highway's new bridges over the Capital Beltway and MD 414 and the partial cloverleaf interchange between MD 210 and MD 414 were completed in 2007. The Maryland State Highway Administration has long-term plans to upgrade

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4888-582: The intersection, the Washington, D.C., segment of Livingston Road splits to the north, ending at Atlantic Street. MD 210 is a part of the main National Highway System from MD 228 in Accokeek to I-95, I-295, and I-495 in Forest Heights. The main highway along the Washington–;Indian Head corridor before the construction of Indian Head Highway was Livingston Road, which follows much of

4982-411: The largest real estate enterprises ever successfully carried through in the District." The rapid development of Congress Heights and the areas adjacent to the streetcar line on Nichols Avenue led the government of the District of Columbia to extend South Capitol Street into the area east of the Anacostia River. The topography of the area largely dictated the route. Beginning near St. Elizabeths Hospital,

5076-510: The latter splits northeast toward Oxon Hill. North of Wilson Bridge Drive, MD 210 expands to eight lanes and meets the southern end of two-lane ramps from northbound MD 210 to I-295 (Anacostia Freeway) and from I-295 to southbound MD 210. The ramp to southbound MD 210 also receives traffic from northbound I-95/I-495 (Capital Beltway) just east of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge , and the ramp from northbound MD 210 also provides access to

5170-420: The mid-1980s. MD 210 was connected with I-295 in 1989 and its interchange with I-95/I-495 was reconstructed in the mid-2000s. The Maryland State Highway Administration has long-term plans to replace the highway's major intersections with interchanges from Oxon Hill south through Fort Washington. MD 210 begins at an intersection with Potomac Avenue in the town of Indian Head. Indian Head Highway continues west as

5264-497: The name on the basis that it is offensive to Native Americans . The Piscataway Conoy Tribe of Maryland has petitioned to have the name changed. In January 2021, Maryland state senators Arthur Ellis and Obie Patterson introduced state legislation to rename the road President Barack Obama Highway. In April 2022, the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill which the media and legislators said would change

5358-566: The neighborhood of Anacostia), begun in 1854. The following year, the federal government constructed the Government Hospital for the Insane (later known as St. Elizabeths Hospital ). To serve the hospital, Asylum Avenue (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue ) was constructed from the Navy Yard Bridge to the new hospital and then, running on the east side of a line of hills, down to the District-Maryland line. Additional construction in

5452-547: The new 11th Street Bridges was designed to accommodate a lane for the trolley cars of the city's emerging DC Streetcar tram system. The Anacostia Line of the streetcar system was originally intended to travel north from the Anacostia Metro station to a streetcar station at the southern foot of the local span before connecting with the Navy Yard – Ballpark and Waterfront Metro stations. Design changes were made in

5546-403: The new spans eliminated a dangerous portion of I-295 where motorists moving right to access the 11th Street Bridges mixed with motorists moving left as they entered the freeway from Firth Sterling Avenue SE. However, to allow local traffic access to the rest of the city, a set of temporary on- and off-ramps were made to give Anacostia residents access to the bridges. In March 2012, DDOT also closed

5640-579: The next-busiest bridge (Sousa Bridge). DDOT undertook a major study of the bridges in 2004 which concluded that both bridges should be replaced. DDOT and the FHWA issued notices to proceed with further assessments in September 2005, a draft environmental impact assessment was published in July 2006, a final environmental assessment was published in September 2007, and a decision to proceed promulgated in July 2008. Public hearings were held in September 2005, December 2005, and July 2006. Because of design changes,

5734-430: The nine signalized intersections along MD 210 between MD 228 and MD 414. The agency completed an intermodal study and received federal approval for upgrades along that corridor in 2005. The first intersection to be upgraded was the junction with Livingston Road and Kerby Hill Road, which was upgraded to a four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange. In addition, the intersection with Wilson Bridge Drive north of Kerby Hill Road

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5828-518: The north and the state highway enters Accokeek . Southwest of MD 228 at Pine Drive, which is unsigned MD 810G , eight spectators of an illegal street drag race were killed in the early morning hours of February 16, 2008, by a vehicle not involved in the drag race while standing in the middle of the northbound carriageway of MD 210. MD 210 expands to six lanes and its traffic volume doubles beyond its continuous-flow intersection with MD 228 (Berry Road). The highway intersects Livingston Road again in

5922-545: The northbound Beltway and the southbound express lanes of the Beltway, which bypass the exits for I-295 and U.S. Route 1 and Virginia State Route 241 in Alexandria . North of those ramps, MD 210 continues as a four-lane divided highway and has a partial cloverleaf interchange with MD 414 (Oxon Hill Road), which provides access to the Oxon Hill Farm and National Harbor ; access from the northbound direction of

6016-698: The older bridge in 1965, and a second four-lane bridge added in 1969. In 2009, construction began on three spans (two carrying freeway traffic, one carrying local-only traffic) to replace the 1965 and 1969 bridges. The northbound bridge opened to traffic in December 2011 while the southbound bridge open to traffic in January 2012. The new bridges include new ramps and new interchanges with I-295 (the Anacostia Freeway). The local bridge opened to traffic in May 2012. Portions of all three bridges and their approaches remained under construction into 2013. Phase 1 of

6110-449: The pedestrian/bike lane. DDOT also admitted that Anacostia residents traveling into the city would not have direct access to M Street as originally planned. Instead, motorists would confront a dead-end and be forced to take a detour east onto O Street SE, travel north on 12th Street NE, and then make a left to reach M Street SE. DDOT said the final outbound lane to Anacostia as well as the bicycle/pedestrian lane would not be completed until

6204-471: The piers left over from the demolition of the downstream span. Pedestrian observation platforms would be built on the piers. At both ends of the local-only span, the city also proposed building fishing piers, which would extend into the Anacostia River. The overlooks and fishing piers were expected to be completed in the fall of 2012 or the spring of 2013. However, in March 2012 the Office of Planning within

6298-457: The piers, complete with utilities (electricity, natural gas, sewage, fresh water). A self-sustaining public-private partnership would develop parks, restaurants, and outdoor entertainment features on the span. City planners argued the concept would connect parks and trails along both sides of the Anacostia River, provide a "destination attraction" in the city's impoverished Southeast which could enhance retail sales as well as economic development in

6392-475: The populated area and passes to the south of Chapman State Park, which contains the historic farm complex Mount Aventine . The highway reenters a suburban area in the community of Bryans Road , where the highway intersects MD 227 ; MD 227 heads north as Marshall Hall Road and south as Livingston Road. East of MD 227, MD 210 is paralleled by frontage roads intermittently to its northern terminus. MD 210 enters Prince George's County and Livingston Road splits to

6486-425: The project and find careers in the construction industry. In May 2011, DDOT closed the off-ramp from the bridges to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE. The agency said the closure would create a larger work area and speed up construction of the new bridges and approaches. Traffic was rerouted along the existing Good Hope Road on-ramp through the end of 2011, although this meant the ramp now carried two-way traffic in

6580-551: The project was completed ahead of schedule and within budget in July 2013. The local bridge was fully complete by September 2013. Phase 2 of the project, including the conversion of the Barney Circle Freeway into a boulevard, was completed in 2015. The first bridge across the Anacostia River in this area was the Eastern Branch Bridge, a privately owned toll and drawbridge built between 1795 and 1800 about 0.25 miles (0.40 km) upstream from 11th Street SE (at

6674-521: The ramp leading from I-695 to the 11th Street Bridges so that new approaches and connections to the new spans could be constructed. Ten Metrobus routes were rerouted due to the span closure, adding significant travel times for Anacostia commuters. Motorists attempting to reach Anacostia were forced to use one of three time-consuming alternative routes: exit I-395 at the Sixth Street SE ramp, travel through local streets, and use an on-ramp next to

6768-433: The residential town, the state highway meets the northern end of the northernmost Maryland segment of Livingston Road. Southbound MD 210 gains a third lane and the highway continues through a commercial area. The state highway becomes undivided just south of its terminus at the District of Columbia boundary at Southern Avenue . The highway continues north as South Capitol Street through Bellevue and Anacostia . Just north of

6862-527: The river which he called Congress Heights. The Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge (which was replaced by the John Philip Sousa Bridge ) began construction in November 1887, and by June 1890 was nearing completion. Randle understood that this new bridge would bring rapid development east of the Anacostia River, and he intended to take advantage of it. The development was immediately successful. To ensure that his investment continued to pay off, Randle invested heavily in

6956-414: The second-largest volume of the four "middle Anacostia River" bridge crossings. Without improvements to traffic patterns across the Anacostia River, the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) estimated in 2005 that traffic over the 11th Street Bridges would significantly expand to 105,100 vehicles per day by 2030, an increase of 22.2 percent over 2004 and more than 40.3 percent higher than

7050-424: The separate Anacostia-only span opened in 2013. Officials in December 2011 predicted the local-only span, which was intended to carry not only automobiles but also include bicycle and pedestrian lanes, would open in the summer of 2012. Before the opening of the spans, DDOT received permission from the U.S. Department of Transportation to extend the designation of I-695 to the interchange with I-295. The opening of

7144-450: The site of the current John Philip Sousa Bridge ). The Eastern Branch Bridge was blown up and partially burned by retreating American soldiers in August 1814 during the War of 1812. It was rebuilt, but burned completely in August 1846. In 1820, the privately owned "Upper Navy Yard Bridge" was built over the Anacostia River at 11th Street SE. Also a toll bridge, this second bridge became

7238-465: The span fails the entire bridge is likely to collapse. In 1956, federal and regional transportation planners proposed an Inner Loop Expressway , one of three circumferential beltways for the District of Columbia. The innermost beltway would have formed a flattened oval about a mile in radius centered on the White House . The middle beltway would have formed an arc along the northern portion of

7332-432: The state highway. MD 210 intersects Fort Washington Road, which leads to Fort Washington Park , and Old Fort Road again east of historic Harmony Hall and St. John's Church , which are accessed from Livingston Road. Livingston Road reconnects with MD 210 at Palmer Road, north of which the state highway crosses Henson Creek. MD 210 crosses Carey Branch and has a ramp allowing access to Kerby Hill Road and Livingston Road;

7426-399: The streetcar line had been identified. In January 2012 the fourth public meeting narrowed the routes down to four alternatives for linking the Anacostia Metro station to the bridges. DDOT originally planned to tear down the spans of the existing 11th Street Bridges, but leave the piers standing. The agency planned to connect the bicycle/pedestrian lane on the new local-only span with two of

7520-442: The traffic light there, use Pennsylvania Avenue to cross the nearby Sousa Bridge , wait at a traffic light on the southwestern terminus of the bridge, and make a left turn against oncoming traffic to access a narrow and dangerous ramp that led to northbound D.C. Route 295 (the Anacostia Freeway). The combination of traffic lights, left turn, and mixing of both through-traffic and local traffic created extensive traffic congestion on

7614-531: The years before the United States entered World War II . Indian Head Highway was constructed as a highway on a new alignment in several segments during World War II. Two portions of the highway in Charles County were built by 1944: from the Strauss Avenue split east to approximately the MD 225 intersection, and from the western intersection with Chapman Landing Road to Matthews Road just east of

7708-515: Was a reconstruction of Strauss Avenue, a part of which remains as a street that splits off and parallels MD 210 through the eastern part of the town. By 1934, MD 224 was proposed to be widened from 16 to 20 feet (4.9 to 6.1 m) from Oxon Hill to Piscataway . The need for upgrades to Livingston Road became acute by 1940 with the greatly increased activity at Fort Washington and the Indian Head Naval Powder Factory in

7802-729: Was applied to the remainder of the highway from Charles County to the District of Columbia in 1956. In 1955, the Maryland State Roads Commission and the Bureau of Public Roads, the predecessor to the Federal Highway Administration , signed an agreement to transfer ownership of the highway from the federal government to the state roads commission. That same year, the Livingston Road portion of MD 224 from Mason Springs to Washington

7896-806: Was closed and replaced with a right-in/right-out interchange with southbound MD 210. Partial cloverleaf interchanges will also be constructed at Livingston Road and Palmer Road, and at Swan Creek Road. For the Swan Creek Road project, there will be a pair of additional ramps constructed between northbound MD 210 and Livingston Road and the continuity of the latter road will be restored. Diamond interchanges will be built at Fort Washington Road and at both intersections with Old Fort Road. Interchanges will not be constructed at Farmington Road and MD 373; instead, those intersections will be improved with lengthened and additional auxiliary lanes at each intersection. Since at least 2003, proposals have been made to change

7990-459: Was completed. This junction was originally a full cloverleaf interchange ; the ramp from the northbound Beltway for southbound MD 210 and from southbound MD 210 to the northbound Beltway led to and from intersections with MD 414. MD 210 was made a divided highway from Oxon Hill south to near Fort Foote Road in 1965. The portion of MD 210 in the town of Indian Head also was expanded to a divided highway that year. The divided highway in Charles County

8084-469: Was constructed by the U.S. federal government as a military access highway in the mid-1940s to connect Washington with the Indian Head Naval Proving Ground and Fort Washington. The previous highway between Washington, D.C., and Indian Head was Livingston Road, which was traced in the late 18th century and improved in the 1920s and early 1930s as MD 224 . The new highway incorporated several sections of meandering MD 224 into its straight path. Indian Head Highway

8178-555: Was extended east to Bryans Road in 1969 and completed to the county line in 1971. MD 210 was reconstructed as a divided highway from Fort Foote Road to MD 373 in 1983. The last segment of two-lane road on MD 210 was eliminated with expansion of the portion between MD 373 and the Charles–Prince George's county line in 1987. A pair of long S-shaped ramps were constructed from southbound I-295 to southbound MD 210 and from northbound MD 210 to both northbound I-495 and northbound I-295 in Forest Heights in 1989. MD 210 had been widened to

8272-405: Was fully designated MD 210 in the mid-1950s when the road was transferred from federal to state control. MD 210 was expanded to a divided highway in Forest Heights in the late 1940s and south through Fort Washington in the 1960s. Another section of divided highway was completed through Charles County in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The final divided highway section was completed through Accokeek in

8366-489: Was mixed. Attendees at the city's meeting were reported to be highly enthusiastic. But Beth Purcell, president of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, called the plan "bizarre" and argued that the city should not delay construction of the overlooks and fishing piers in favor of an unstudied design proposal with no funding. David Alpert, of the prominent local blog Greater Greater Washington ,

8460-412: Was more muted in his criticism. Writing for The Washington Post , he pointed out that the "recreation bridge" connected two neighborhoods of only moderate population density, and was not easily accessed from either side of the river. He argued that the space would have to have enough activity and importance to make it a "destination" space day and night. He cautioned that the space could easily turn into

8554-515: Was on Alabama Avenue at the intersection of Stanton Road and Barry Farm Housing Project. During World War II, it had anti-aircraft gun emplacements to defend Washington from air attack. After the war, the U.S. Army built a military reserve facility in the central part of Congress Heights. Many early residents worked at the U.S. Naval Gun Factory, which stopped production about 1960, or at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory . Congress Heights experienced great urban neglect after World War II. However, in

8648-472: Was scheduled to end in 2013. On-ramps from Anacostia to the northbound span of the 11th Street Bridges were closed on December 20, 2009, for five and a half hours after heavy snow blocked the approaches during the North American blizzard of 2009 , with the snow removal disrupting automobile traffic and forcing the temporary closure of several Metrobus routes which use the bridge. Lane closures on

8742-401: Was the only major southward road through the area until the development of Congress Heights itself. The only other major street was a military road (now known as Alabama Avenue SE) which ran in an east-northeasterly direction toward other Civil War forts. Congress Heights itself was founded in 1890. Colonel Arthur E. Randle, a successful newspaper publisher, decided to found a settlement east of

8836-408: Was transferred to county maintenance. The first segment of MD 210 to be expanded to a divided highway was from the District of Columbia boundary south to Livingston Road in Forest Heights, which was expanded to a divided highway by 1950. The highway was expanded to a divided highway from Livingston Road south to MD 414 in Forest Heights in 1963, the year MD 210's interchange with the Capital Beltway

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