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| | | 11th Street Bridges project moves forward | | May 15, 2009 | | | | Though a Hill preservation group is suing to stop the 11th Street Bridges project, the city recently announced it is moving ahead with plans to redo the bridges.
Mayor Adrian Fenty announced late last month that the city had selected a contractor — Skanska/Facchina — for the 11th Street project, which involves reconstructing a series of bridges that cross the Anacostia River and reconfiguring the interchange of the Southeast/Southwest Freeway and the Anacostia Freeway in Southeast.
The freeway bridges will connect the Anacostia Freeway and the Southeast Freeway, providing a link that will enable cars to go from north to east and east to north.
The Capitol Hill Restoration Society filed suit in February to try to halt the project, accusing the government of failing to comply with a federal environmental law.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court, alleges that the Federal Highway Administration — an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation — and the District Department of Transportation failed to consider the environmental impact of the expansion and increased traffic for the community surrounding the bridges.
After asking for an extension, the District is scheduled to respond to the suit in June.
“These new bridges are replacing out-dated, deficient infrastructure in high traffic areas that hundreds of thousands of people rely on every day,” District Department of Transportation director Gabe Klein said in a release.
More information on the project and controversy is at theanacostiawaterfront.com/11thstreet.jsp, as well as at chrs.org.
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