Saturday, December 18, 2021

Immediate Impact on Safety for Drivers, Cyclists, and Pedestrians Will Result From Federal RAISE Funds Award

Today, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced it has received a $15 million federal grant to be used to help improve pedestrian and cycling connections, accommodate future expansion of the DC Streetcar, and address vehicular and bus safety and operations along the two-mile long Benning Road NE corridor. 

“The intersection of Benning Road and Minnesota Avenue NE has one of the District’s highest crash rates and frequency,” said Acting DDOT Director Everett Lott. “With so much pedestrian and vehicular activity in this corridor, we are elated to have this additional funding that will add to Mayor Bowser’s FY21 and FY22 budget commitment to help make the area safer for all our roadway users.”

The grant for the Benning Road Bridges and Transportation Improvements Project is through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program, which supports road, rail, transit, and port projects that promise to achieve national objectives.

The Benning Road Bridges and Transportation Improvements Project is in the final design phase to continue the development of transportation improvements on Benning Road from Oklahoma Avenue NE to East Capitol Street. The project includes replacing the structurally-deficient bridge over DC-295 (Anacostia Freeway) and CSX’s freight rail tracks; improving safety and access at the DC-295/Benning Road interchange; and enhancing pedestrian and bicycle routes over the Ethel Kennedy Memorial Bridge and the Benning Road Bridge over Kingman Lake.

The project also supports the extension of the existing DC Streetcar line from its current terminus at Oklahoma Avenue NE east to the Benning Road Metrorail Station. 

To learn more about the Benning Road Bridges and Transportation Improvements Project, please visit benningproject.com. 

To learn more about the 2021 RAISE award, please visit transportation.gov/policy-initiatives/raise/raise-2021-awarded-projects.