On Monday, August 19th, four of these digital signs appeared in the neighborhood:
This one is on Albemarle Street, west of Connecticut Avenue at 35th Street. And it is difficult to read in the afternoon sun, but the sign’s message is alternating between “Upcoming Road Closure” and “Albe. Street.”
The sign is referring to DC Water’s pending closure of Albemarle Street, east of Connecticut Avenue. The utility revealed its plan in June for completing what project manager Peter Tinubu described as the “most difficult” phase of what’s been a two and a half year Soapstone Valley sewer rehabilitation. An Albemarle manhole will be dismantled, brick by brick. The last segment of sewer pipe will be relined. The manhole will be rebuilt. And while this is happening, a section of Albemarle next to the Soapstone Valley Trail entrance will be closed for two months.
In an August 16th email to ANC 3F Commissioner Mitchell Baer, DC Water revealed its plan for the signs’ placement and wording. The email also suggested the signs might be moved after at least a week at their current locations: Connecticut and Nebraska Avenue, Connecticut and Tilden Street, Albemarle and 29th Street, and the one above at Albemarle and 35th.
At this writing, no date has been announced for this final phase of the Soapstone project. In June, DC Water said the start date would depend on when DDOT issues the permit for the street closure.
Our search of DDOT’s TOPS permit system indicates the traffic agency issued the permit on Wednesday, August 21st (search for permit number PA445233). The closure area is 3200-3399 Albemarle (the section between Connecticut Avenue and 32nd Street). The work type: “Excavation; Repair Sewer Main Line, Excavation; Manhole Installation, Excavation; Manhole Removal/Abandonment.”
DC Water also said in June that nearby homeowners, apartment buildings and businesses would be notified at least 72 hours before the work begins.
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Green Eyeshades says
This is the direct link to the so-called “Active Permit” for the Big Dig at 32nd and Albemarle:
https://tops.ddot.dc.gov/DDOTPermitSystem/DDOTPermitOnline/Reports/PublicConstructionPermitReport.aspx?tn=445233
Readers can find that construction permit by making sure to choose “Construction” for the “permit type” in the lookup tool.
More detailed information is available on DDOT’s “Smart Map,” which uses this lookup tool:
https://tops.ddot.dc.gov/DDOTPERMITSYSTEM/DDOTPERMITonline/MapLookup.aspx
Enter the location of the construction as “3200 – 3399 BLOCK OF ALBEMARLE STREET NW” then click “search” then look at the one “record” that is “returned” to see the tiny link at the left side labeled “View Map/Info.”
Clicking on that “View Map” link brings up the full smart map for our neighborhood (and most of DC), which requires readers to find the intersection where the Big Dig will take place. It helps to “unclick” most of the boxes on the right column of the map to eliminate distracting & irrelevant markings such as “Paving Plan,” “Public Space Occupancy Permits,” “Streetlights,” “Suspended Streets,” etc.
Clicking on the blue bookmark at that intersection opens the following “work detail” showing construction dates, permit details and this narrative text:
“DC Water will remove and replacement [sic] of manhole M-9787 located near the intersection of Albemarle St. NW and 32nd Street Northwest to support CIPP lining of the 18” sewer main at the bottom of manhole existing towards Soapstone Park via UV curing. All work associated with the replacement of the manhole will be performed within the right of way on Albemarle St”