Beach Drive work between Broad Branch and Tilden could take less than six months

The first phase of the Beach Drive reconstruction took nearly a year. The second phase could be finished in less than half that time.

Phases two and three will actually begin at the same time, on Monday, August 28th. That’s when the segment between Rock Creek Parkway and Tilden Street will reopen, and two segments between Tilden and Joyce Road will close.

The National Park Service estimates work on the 0.34-mile Beach Drive segment between Broad Branch Road and Tilden Street will be completed in four to six months (or three to six months, says the Washington Post). The 1.59-mile segment running between Broad Branch and Joyce Road is to be completed in fall 2018. The fourth and final phase of the project will cover the 2.7-mile stretch between Joyce Road and the DC border with Maryland and is scheduled to be completed in fall 2019.

Also closing, at least to vehicular traffic: Ridge Road NW between Broad Branch and Glover Road, all of Ross Drive – and according to the NPS map below, Broad Branch Road between Beach Drive and what appears to be an area a little south of Brandywine Street. This stretch of Broad Branch is not mentioned in any press materials other than this map. We’ve asked the Park Service for clarification. (UPDATE: Ethan Alpern of NPS confirms that “the Broad Branch closure relates to the vehicle closures on Ross Drive and Ridge Road.”)

Detail of an NPS map of road closures and detours. The top of the map is west, right is north. View the large version here.

NPS says motor vehicles will be barred from Ridge Road and Ross Drive until fall 2018 to give bicyclists a safer commute, provide a recreational alternative to Beach Drive, and to discourage detour-seeking motorists from cutting through residential streets.

The end result will be smooth pavement with better drainage and a wider recreational trail for bicyclists and hikers. Those who went to the “block party” Sunday, August 20th to celebrate the reopening of the first segment got a traffic-free preview.

The most frequent question I got today during car-free Beach Drive party today. pic.twitter.com/CKeh4fADd7

— Katie Harris (@ktharris08) August 20, 2017