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Stuck in DC traffic? The race is on to finish 40 miles of roadwork by fall

The clock is ticking on The District’s summer roadwork goal. It wants to fix 88 miles of road by fall, all part of Mayor Bowser’s Pave DC initiative.
Credit: WUSA9
DDOT is trying to finish 88 miles of road work by fall.

WASHINGTON — Drivers in The District, we feel your pain. Georgia Avenue—one of The District’s oldest arteries connecting U Street to Silver Spring and points in between—is being torn up by construction crews for weeks. It’s all part of a massive roadwork blitz going on right now in D.C.  

The District Department of Transportation is closing lanes and frustrating drivers along one mile of Georgia Avenue. A month’s worth of resurfacing work is now in full swing. Crews have traffic down to one lane between Quincy Street and Ingraham Street NW and the drive is slow-going.

“It’s critically important,” said DDOT Director Jeff Marootian. “We need to fix our roads, we need to fix our infrastructure.”

The clock is ticking on The District’s summer roadwork goal. It wants to fix 88 miles of road by fall, all part of Mayor Bowser’s Pave D.C. initiative.

“We’re out there doing what we think is five years of work and we’re trying to accelerate that and so far we’re on target,” said Marootian.

Georgia Avenue work will last another three weeks. The District wants residents to keep tabs on work. A live website shows the city is about halfway to it’s summer goal.

“The internal side of that is how we’re tracking our work,” said Marootian. “I’m able to go on everyday and see if we’re in the right spot and if there’s any issues to address and we can address those in real time.”

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The pain of progress, only halfway done for the summer.

“We’re asking for everybody to be understanding as we’re trying to minimize those impacts and open roadways as quickly as we can,” said Marootian.

On Georgia Avenue, DDOT promises that at least one lane will be open all the time. The city says the contractors can work on the northbound lanes on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and on the southbound lanes from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Saturdays, DDOT said work can last a full 12-hour shift, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

DDOT says parking will also be impacted, but vows to post restriction signs at least 72 hours in advance.

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