Let's talk ovals. Well, one oval in particular, which is the oval that is going to be built on the western side of the new
Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, that big construction project you're seeing immediately downriver of the existing bridge.
As I've been taking pictures of the
intersection of South Capitol and Potomac as it is currently configured, I've been having a hard time visualizing how it will change when the bridge and traffic oval are completed, and so even though I'm sure at some point DDOT has created an overlay exactly like this one, I decided to make one myself that's a little larger. (If you want a clean version of the current satellite view to better compare with,
here's Google Maps.)
As you can see, the new bridge will not be arriving at the exact southern end of the oval, but instead more on the south-southeast edge. And the South Capitol-Potomac "intersection" does not split the oval in half. The northeastern part of the oval will chop off a bit of the large plaza at the approach to the Nats Park Home Plate Gate, and you can also see why some buildings near the current intersection have been demolished in the past year.
Here are some renderings showing what the view could look like up South Capitol from the oval, and also how the Anacostia Riverwalk will run under the bridge to allow for pedestrian/cyclist movement to and from Southeast and Southwest without having to navigate the oval's traffic crossings.
This oval (and also the one on the bridge's eastern side, which is outside the JDLand Coverage Area) are going to be a big deal when they arrive, and my guess is that there will be considerable squawking from all sides at first. But they are coming--and I'm almost as fascinated with this part of the project as I am with the new bridge itself.
Speaking of which, I went up there and took some pictures today.
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