The 11th Street Bridges are a complex of three bridges across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., United States. The bridges convey Interstate 695 across the Anacostia to its southern terminus at Interstate 295 and DC 295. The bridges also connect the neighborhood of Anacostia with the rest of the city of Washington.
The first bridge at the site, constructed about 1800, played a role in the War of 1812. It burned in 1846, but was repaired. A second bridge was constructed in 1873, and replaced in 1907. A modern, four-lane bridge replaced the older bridge in 1965, and a second four-lane bridge added in 1969. In 2009, construction began on three spans (two carrying freeway traffic, one carrying local-only traffic) to replace the 1965 and 1969 bridges. The northbound bridge opened to traffic in December 2011 while the southbound bridge open to traffic in January 2012. The new bridges include new ramps and new interchanges with I-295 (the Anacostia Freeway). The local bridge opened to traffic in May 2012. Portions of all three bridges and their approaches remained under construction into 2013. Phase 1 of the project was completed ahead of schedule and within budget in July 2013. The local bridge was fully complete by September 2013. Phase 2 of the project, including the conversion of the Barney Circle Freeway into a boulevard, was completed in 2015.
Early bridges The first bridge across the Anacostia River in this area was the Eastern Branch Bridge,The Anacostia River was originally called the "Eastern Branch." See: Abbott, Carl. Political Terrain: Washington, D.C., from Tidewater Town to Global Metropolis. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1999. a privately owned toll and drawbridge built between 1795 and 1800 about upstream from 11th Street SE (at the site of the current John Philip Sousa Bridge).Croggon, James. "Old 'Burnt Bridge'." Evening Star. July 7, 1907.Burr, Charles R. "A Brief History of Anacostia, Its Name, Origin and Progress." Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington. 1920. The Eastern Branch Bridge was blown up and partially burned by retreating American soldiers in August 1814 during the War of 1812.Pitch, Anthony S. The Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2000. It was rebuilt, but burned completely in August 1846.
In 1820, the privately owned "Upper Navy Yard Bridge" was built over the Anacostia River at 11th Street SE. Also a toll bridge, this second bridge became a "free" bridge in 1848 after it was purchased by the federal government. From the city's founding until 1854, the area known today as Anacostia was primarily sparsely populated farmland. But Anacostia was platted in 1854, and development slowly began to turn the agricultural land into businesses and residences. The destruction of the Eastern Branch Bridge in 1846, however, significantly slowed growth in the area for five decades.Miller, Frederic and Gillette, Howard. Washington Seen: A Photographic History, 1875-1965. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995.
A second bridge was built in the same location as the Navy Yard Bridge in 1872–1873.Fitzpatrick, Sandra and Goodwin, Maria R. A Guide to Black Washington: Places and Events of Historical and Cultural Significance in the Nation's Capital. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1990. This bridge was replaced in 1905-1907 by a stronger, wider span (the "Anacostia Bridge") which accommodated streetcars."The Bill (H.R. 18198) Making Appropriations to Provide For the Expenses of the Government of the District of Columbia for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1907, and for Other Purposes." Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations. U.S. Senate. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906. It was this span which the Bonus Army fled across on July 28, 1932, when attacked by the United States Army.Manchester, William. "Rock Bottom in America." New York Magazine. August 5, 1974; Weintraub, Stanley. 15 Stars: Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall: Three Generals Who Saved the American Century. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2007.
1960s bridges
Replacement of the 1907 span began in the 1960s. A modern, four-lane bridge carrying one-way northbound traffic opened next to the Anacostia Bridge on March 18, 1965 as part of the development of the "Inner Loop" (see below). A second four-lane bridge replaced the Anacostia Bridge in 1969, with one-way traffic over the span of each bridge.Cohn, D'Vera. "Suit Seeks to Stop D.C. Plans to Build Connector Highway." The Washington Post. May 13, 1994.
The southbound structure was officially named the Officer Kevin J. Welsh Memorial Bridge, while the northbound structure was officially named the 11th Street Bridge.The original southbound span was named for District of Columbia police office Kevin J. Welsh, who drowned in 1986 while attempting to save a woman who had attempted to commit suicide by leaping from the bridge into the Anacostia River. Welsh's body was never recovered, and the D.C. City Council renamed the southbound span in his honor. See: Kelly, John F. "Bridges Carry Bits of History Along With the Traffic." Washington Post. April 21, 2005. Both were beam bridges: "[The spans] are two-girder systems with steel composite construction and a central drop-in span on pin supports. The main girders are riveted and welded, and both have reinforced wall type piers with granite facing, supported by steel H piles."District of Columbia Department of Transportation, 11th Street Bridge Design Workshop, May 25, 2005, p. 12. Each span was about wide. Each bridge had roughly five sections—four sections of about in length, with a center section about in length. Both spans were considered "fracture critical," which means that if one girder in the span fails the entire bridge is likely to collapse.
In 1956, federal and regional transportation planners proposed an Inner Loop Expressway, one of three circumferential beltways for the District of Columbia.Levey, Bob and Levey, Jane Freundel. "End of The Roads." The Washington Post. November 26, 2000; Schrag, Zachary M. "The Freeway Fight in Washington, D.C.: The Three Sisters Bridge in Three Administrations." Journal of Urban History. 30:5 (July 2004); Mohl, Raymond A. "The Interstates and the Cities: The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Freeway Revolt, 1966-1973." Journal of Policy History. 20:2 (2008); Schrag, Zachary M. The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. ; Rose, Mark H. Interstate: Express Highway Politics, 1939-1989. Rev. ed. Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1990. ; Eisen, Jack. "Md. Vetoes I-95 Extension Into District." The Washington Post. July 13, 1973; Feaver, Douglas B. "Three Sisters Highway Project Is Killed - Again." The Washington Post. May 13, 1977. The innermost beltway would have formed a flattened oval about a mile in radius centered on the White House. The middle beltway would have formed an arc along the northern portion of the city, running from the proposed Barney Circle Freeway terminus near Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium to near 37th Street NW at the north end of Georgetown.
Two decades of protest led to the cancellation of all but the I-395 and I-695 portions of the plan. The unbuilt portions of the project were finally cancelled in 1977. Several ramps allowing traffic on the 11th Street Bridges to access I-295/Anacostia Freeway and I-695 eastbound remained unbuilt because of these cancellations, creating severe traffic problems on both ends of the bridges.Lynton, Stephen J. "D.C. Plans to Link Two City Freeways." The Washington Post. September 26, 1983.
2009 rebuilding
The District of Columbia assessed the bridges in 2002. The Welsh Memorial Bridge was rated "satisfactory" (superstructure rating of 6; substructure rating of 6) while the 11th Street Bridge was rated "fair to poor" (superstructure rating of 5; substructure rating of 4).The United States Department of Transportation uses the following scale to rate bridge component conditions: '0' Failed '1' Imminent '2' Critical '3' Serious '4' Poor '5' Fair '6' Satisfactory '7' Good '8' Very good '9' ExcellentThe ratings apply to the three primary components of a bridge: the deck, superstructure, and substructure. See: Federal Highway Administration. "Bridge System Conditions." In Status of the Nation's Highways, Bridges, and Transit: 2004 Conditions and Performance. Federal Transit Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2004. Both superstructures were near maximum life expectancy. In 2004, the two bridges carried 86,000 vehicles per day, the second-largest volume of the four "middle Anacostia River" bridge crossings. Without improvements to traffic patterns across the Anacostia River, the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) estimated in 2005 that traffic over the 11th Street Bridges would significantly expand to 105,100 vehicles per day by 2030, an increase of 22.2 percent over 2004 and more than 40.3 percent higher than the next-busiest bridge (Sousa Bridge). DDOT undertook a major study of the bridges in 2004 which concluded that both bridges should be replaced.District of Columbia Department of Transportation. Re-Evaluation: 11th Street Bridges: Anacostia Freeway (I-295/DC 295) to Southeast/Southwest Freeway (I-695), Washington, D.C. July 15, 2009.
DDOT and the FHWA issued notices to proceed with further assessments in September 2005, a draft environmental impact assessment was published in July 2006, a final environmental assessment was published in September 2007, and a decision to proceed promulgated in July 2008.District of Columbia Department of Transportation. Record of Decision: 11th Street Bridges: Anacostia Freeway (I-295/DC 295) to Southeast/Southwest Freeway (I-695), Washington, D.C. July 2, 2008. Public hearings were held in September 2005, December 2005, and July 2006. Because of design changes, the environmental impact study was re-evaluated in July 2009 and found to still be sufficient. The goals of the project were: to reduce traffic congestion on both the 11th Street Bridges and on local streets; to increase the safety of all types of traffic on local streets; to replace the current bridges; to provide an improved emergency evacuation route for the nation's capital; and to provide routes for security personnel in and out of the nation's capital. The project also included a pedestrian walkway to provide foot traffic access across the bridges as well.Jenkins, Chris L. "'Every Neighborhood Needs a Cheers, and Maybe This Can Be Ours'." The Washington Post. February 13, 2011.
The entire replacement project was expected to cost $365 million. Demolition of a portion of the bridges began in July 2009 (a portion of M Street SE and I-295 access ramp at 12th Street SE were closed for two weekends to permit demolition of bridge ramps),Thomson, Robert. "Dr. G's Tips." The Washington Post. July 12, 2009. and construction was scheduled to end in 2013.Thomson, Robert. "DC to Rebuild 11th Street Bridges over Anacostia." The Washington Post. April 24, 2009; The Washington Post. September 22, 2009.
On-ramps from Anacostia to the northbound span of the 11th Street Bridges were closed on December 20, 2009, for five and a half hours after heavy snow blocked the approaches during the North American blizzard of 2009, with the snow removal disrupting automobile traffic and forcing the temporary closure of several Metrobus routes which use the bridge."Ramp Closures at 11th St. Bridge." The Washington Post. December 20, 2009.