Photo - Fort Myer Construction
The construction team uses a Komatsu excavator and other equipment to prepare the ground for four new parks and new traffic patterns in northern Washington, D.C. The Hyatt Place Hotel is in the background.
Over the past decade, Fort Myer Construction has undertaken significant infrastructure projects that have enhanced Washington, D.C., in both aesthetic and practical ways.
Fort Myer is reconstructing a 7.5-mi. section of the George Washington Parkway. This road is a National Park, and the company is taking measures to ensure that it retains its parklike character. (For an in-depth look at this project, click here.)
Fort Myer has begun work on two more infrastructure projects that will impact the region. One project will help craft a more pleasing entrance to the city for people traveling into D.C. from the north. Planners hope that the project will help transform the mishmash of intersecting roads into corridors that will be less confusing and more aesthetic.
The second project will involve safety upgrades to the Rosslyn Tunnel that carries traffic from Virgina into the city along I-66. Coincidentally, one of the roads passing on top of the tunnel is Fort Myer Drive, the original home for the company.
Together the two projects will cost close to $60 million.
The Rosslyn Tunnel, 0.2 mi. long, first opened to traffic in 1983 and averages 64,000 vehicles per day. A key component to this work will be fireproofing the roof of the tunnel and removing the existing tunnel ceiling. Sam Patel, DBIA, vice president of Fort Meyer, is overseeing both projects.
Fort Myer began work on the tunnel in the summer 2022. Patel and his team are working with Virginia DOT (VDOT) on the project and expect to be finished in three years.
"We will be using a special cementitious material that is fireproof," said Patel. "Only a handful of vendors in the country are licensed to do this kind of work. We will be using several specialty cranes to do the work, plus painting equipment to apply the material."
Patel estimates that the work is 25 percent complete.
"We are being particularly vigilant with safety because of the heavy traffic flowing through the tunnel," Patel said. "Since the tunnel is protected from the weather, we should be able to make good progress on the work during the winter months."
In addition to the fireproofing work that will protect the businesses and streets that are above the tunnel, the work team will repair steel beams, abutments and pier concrete. Workers also will replace the tunnel lighting system and will clean and repair bridge bearings. Bearings do the important task of enabling the bridge to expand and contract. They also relieve pressure on the beams as traffic passes over the bridge.
Washington D.C.'s Front Door
New York Avenue, on the northeast side of the city, carries traffic that telescopes down from a highway into a busy city street with multiple intersections to other city thoroughfares. Workers are currently relocating utilities before beginning the work to transform this section of the city.
Fort Myer's work will take place in the trendy NoMa (short for North of Massachusetts Avenue) neighborhood. The area is home to Union Station, Gallaudet University and trendy shops emerging from old lots. The Metropolitan Branch bike trail, formerly a part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, passes through the area and serves thousands of commuters and cyclists.
The construction will mesh well with the growth happening in NoMa. The Florida Avenue NE and New York Avenue NE Intersection Project will improve safety by adding two-way traffic to First Street NE and two-way traffic to Florida Avenue. The project will add considerable greenspace by creating four new parks.
The District Department of Transportation outlined the need for this project on its website: "Florida Avenue, NE is a complex corridor with multiple land uses, varying roadway conditions, and important transit connections. The corridor serves as the main street for the Gallaudet University campus and residents of Wards 5 and 6, as well as an increasingly popular regional destination following the development of Union Market and the NoMa business district."
Patel described his team's complex job of making this plan happen.
"The work zone will be challenging as there are many pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists traveling through the area. Our construction teams will be installing decorative hardscape, granite benches and other landscaping that will make the parks attractive. It will have protected bike lanes and other means promoting multimodal use."
The work is expected to be completed at the end of 2024. CEG
Chuck MacDonald
Chuck MacDonald is an editor, blogger and freelance feature writer whose writing adventures have taken him to 48 states and 10 countries. He has been the editor for magazines on pavement construction, chemicals, insurance and missions. Chuck enjoys bicycling, kayaking and reading. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism. Chuck lives in Annapolis, Md. with his wife Kristen. They have seven grandchildren.
Read more from Chuck MacDonald here.
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