Maine Avenue, between 14th and 15th: milling and repaving. Starts 4/22

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Finally! The terrible road surface on Maine Avenue between 14th and 15th is going to be repaved. If you enter DC via 14th Street Bridge/Ohio Drive, you know how terrible the road surfaces are getting onto 15th. Personally, my route is Independence to Maine to M and the paving on that section of Maine is the worst of my commute.

Here’s the press release from DDOT:

***TRAFFIC ADVISORY***

Road Construction to Begin on Maine Avenue, SW
Expect Lane Closures and Delays

(Washington, DC) Starting on or about April 22, 2013, Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division (EFLHD) will administer a contract for the National Park Service (NPS) to improve part of Maine Avenue S.W. DC. The roadway re-construction project is located under the 14th Street Bridge to Independence Avenue westbound and Tidal Basin Parking lot to under the 14th Street Bridge eastbound. The project will affect the roadways intersecting Maine Avenue, SW from the intersection of 15th Street, SW, Raoul Wallenberg Place, Ohio Drive to the Jefferson Memorial and the ramp to I-395 southbound in Southwest DC.

The major work activities include milling out all of the asphalt, repairing the base concrete and paving. Drivers will experience uneven lanes.

Motorists and pedestrians will be notified of lane closures through the use of construction signs and variable message boards, which will be posted during the entire construction process. Work may occur day, nights and weekends. The public will encounter lane closures during construction. Weekly lane closures and construction activities will be listed in the weekly traffic advisory.

All lanes will be open during rush hours. AM Rush hours are defined as 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.; PM Rush hours are defined as 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The planned completion date for all work is scheduled for early summer. Weather may require adjustments to the schedule. The NPS will continue to inform the public and the media of any adjustments in the work schedule. Every effort is being made to minimize traffic delays and accomplish the work in a timely manner.

Topic

[dbb]

The National Park Service will be paving Maine Avenue from the entrance to the Tidal Basin parking lot to about where Maine Avenue crosses under the railroad tracks before the marina. It will also include transitions from Maine Ave to 15th St and from Maine Ave to Ohio Drive. A site map is attached.

When they mill down, Maine Ave will be a rough canyon for cyclists.

The paving is scheduled to begin on May 6 and will run for about 40 days.

I understand the contractor has asked to work at night because of the traffic.

This will most significantly impact the cyclists who use the southern end of 15th Street to Maine and on to East Basin Drive. I would recommend scoping out alternative strategies to get from the Jefferson to where you need to go.

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[creadinger]

@dbb 49557 wrote:

The paving is scheduled to begin on May 6 and will run for about 40 days. I understand the contractor has asked to work at night because of the traffic.

So 40 days AND 40 nights? Does that make this repaving project one of biblical proportions?

[Subby]

Hallelujah! Between this and the WOD fix near Wilson, my commute is soon going to be like riding on VELVET ROADWAYS.

Maybe they can tackle the berms at Custis next?

[dbb]

@creadinger 49613 wrote:

So 40 days AND 40 nights? Does that make this repaving project one of biblical proportions?

When they start positioning two of every kind of construction equipment on the project site, watch for rain!

[Tim Kelley]

@Subby 49618 wrote:

Maybe they can tackle the berms at Custis next?

Where?

[Subby]

@Tim Kelley 49751 wrote:

Where?

I lifted this from another thread, but I believe that shows the right place.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.884302,-77.120005&hl=en&num=1&t=h&z=19&lci=bike

[dbb]

Giving this a bump. I saw signs the other day starting to warn motorists. The NPS said that Notice to Proceed would be 6 May so we should see mostly preparatory work for the first few days.

[dbb]

The work has begun.

Maine Ave has been mostly milled on the eastbound lanes. Interestingly enough, the milled surface appears to be significantly smoother and more consistent than the pavement we had last week.

The contractor did install mini ramps to ease the transitions for cyclists.

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[rcannon100]

Does anyone have a POC for the Maine Ave repaving. I would like to drop them a note. We constantly have trouble with the cross walks there.

[jrenaut]

@dbb 51531 wrote:

…the milled surface appears to be significantly smoother and more consistent than the pavement we had last week….

I think that’s a sign they waited too long to repave

[dbb]

@jrenaut 51542 wrote:

I think that’s a sign they waited too long to repave

That much is certain!

[Arlingtonrider]

Someone might want to give the contractor a heads up on Bike to Work Day too, if that hasn’t been done already.

[dbb]

I just sent a note to the NPS gent I have been working with.

[dbb]

The work is largely complete and the asphalt is smooth and creamy. A great improvement.

If you haven’t ridden this stretch of the road, try it – you’ll like it

[Author]

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