June's Streetscape Update

The Connecticut Avenue Streetscape Project will start in December/January 2024 and is expected to last 27 months. The RFQ will soon be out for bid. The contractor who is awarded the project will be announced this summer. 

The project will include the 1500-1900 blocks of Connecticut Avenue as well as the deck over just north of the Circle. As part of the work, the sidewalks will be treated with London pavers and tree boxes, made with floating cobble stones to allow for percolation, will be installed. Additionally, there will be a few stormwater bioswales built to capture rainwater. 

The streetscape will include 52 new oak trees, mostly scarlet oaks and some sweet water oaks. A staging area is also planned for in front of PNC Bank. 

Construction will start at the top of the hill and work south on the west side. After construction is completed on that side, the contractors will switch to the east side and work their way up the 1900 block of Connecticut Avenue. 

The construction contract will require an ADA ramp or bridge to each retailer. The new plaza will not have any tress. However, it will have small planters and access to water as well as electricity. During construction, 19th and 20th Street streateries will be closed to make way for traffic around the Circle. 

The plaza construction will happen in phases. The east side will be first, then the west side. In total, this will be a 12-phase streetscape. The plaza will take the longest to complete. Traffic detours will go south on Connecticut Avenue, turn east on Q Street (segment two-way), and then north on Connecticut Avenue. 19th Street north of Q Street will be "barricaded" to prevent north bound traffic from entering the residential blocks. Truck detours will be routed from Massachusetts Avenue to Florida Avenue. Deliveries and trash hauling will continue through construction. 

This is the first streetscape for Connecticut Avenue since 2001.