March 15, 2010, 12 a.m. - D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser and District Department of Transportation Director Gabe Klein participated in a groundbreaking for the reconstruction of the intersection of Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue, NE.  The $10 million project aims to make this intersection easier to use and safer for pedestrians and drivers. 

“This isn’t a high-speed highway interchange, it’s the intersection of two neighborhood streets,” said Mayor Fenty, “DDOT’s improvements will make the intersection more neighborhood friendly, and will complement the exciting mixed-use development that is taking place in this community.” 

The project is expected to take approximately 16 months to complete and will include:

• Reconfiguring the intersection of Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue into a traditional four-way intersection
• Total roadway reconstruction on both Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue
• Installation of crosswalks on all four sides of the new intersection
• New granite curbs and brick gutters, wheelchair ramps, driveway entrances, concrete and exposed aggregate sidewalks
• Relocation of utility lines by Washington Gas and PEPCO
• New catch basins, water quality basins, manholes, and sewer pipes
• New street lights and traffic signals
• New trees, bike racks, multi-space meters and trash cans

“Residents wanted a fourth crosswalk to safely walk to the Metro station, to the stores and to work,” said Director Klein, “As a result we changed the design, because our goal is to create livable communities across the District.  This project is a great example of how we can work together to accomplish that.” 

The first phase of the project will be the relocation of the utility lines, followed roadway work. The project will be managed in-house by DDOT engineers. DDOT’s construction contractor is Civil Construction.