More of Beach Drive reopens – a few days late, but also on schedule

The National Park Service’s latest target for reopening a new section of newly-reconstructed Beach Drive had more cooperative weather going for it. On Saturday, January 13th, it returned to service, and saw the return of car and bike traffic.

Beach Dr. between Tilden and Blagden is open! pic.twitter.com/cqrUzbiLd6

— Crestwood CCA (@Crestwood_DC) January 13, 2018

Cold temperatures prevented a planned January 8th reopening (at least one road sign was late to get the message out). A warmup that week went a long way toward assisting the road crews in completing the work. It took a little more than 4.5 months to complete the Tilden Street-to-Broad Branch Road stretch of the project, which is well within the range of estimates.

With this Beach Drive segment, the closed section of Broad Branch leading to the roadway also reopened.

On Broad Branch toward Beach Drive (photos by Marlene Berlin)

These cyclists turned from the newly rebuilt Beach Drive onto Broad Branch.

Ridge Road and Ross Drive remain closed to car traffic but are open to those on bikes and on foot.

The next Beach Drive segment is Beach Drive to Joyce Road. Work on the stretch is scheduled for completion this fall.