Another section of Beach Drive declares independence from potholes

WASHINGTON – The three year project to completely rehabilitate Beach Drive is entering its final phase. After the evening rush on or about Monday, July 9, the National Park Service anticipates reopening Beach Drive between Broad Branch Road/Blagden Avenue NW and Joyce Road NW in Rock Creek Park. When that section of road opens, we will immediately begin work on the final section from Joyce Road to the Maryland – District of Columbia Border.

“Completing the rehabilitation of Beach Drive is going to provide relief to everyone who uses Rock Creek Park,” said Superintendent Julia Washburn. “When we reopen Segment 3, we will also reopen Ridge Road NW, Ross Drive NW and Morrow Drive NW for cars.”

We anticipate beginning work on Segment 4 of Beach Drive after the evening rush on Monday, July 9. Segment 4 is between Joyce Road NW and the Maryland – District of Columbia Border. The road there will close to drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. Segment 4’s completion will mark the end of the Beach Drive Rehabilitation Project.

The three-year construction project remains on schedule to end in fall 2019. Stay up to date by visiting go.nps.gov/beachdrive and signing up for Nixle alerts by texting BEACHDRIVE to 888777.

Highlights from the rehabilitation work in Segment 3 include fully replacing the roadway, planting native trees, and improving the road’s stormwater drainage system. On Segment 4, we will:

• Repair several bridges

• Install 11,000 tons of asphalt and over 10,000 linear feet of culvert

• Replace more than 29,000 linear feet of curbs and road gutters.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed Beach Drive in 1897 to improve access to America’s first urban national park. Today, drivers take more than 12 million commuter trips through Rock Creek Park every year and more than 40,000 people recreate in the park every weekend.