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Virginia Avenue Tunnel
A 105-year-old train tunnel running beneath Virginia Avenue between 2nd and 12th streets, SE
CSX planning to a second track and expand tunnel height; Final EIS released on June 13, 2014
"Start of Major Construction" announced May 29, 2015; New south tunnel opened Dec. 23, 2016
- Full Neighborhood Development MapThere's a lot more than just the projects listed here. See the complete map of completed, underway, and proposed projects all across the neighborhood.
- What's New This YearA quick look at what's arrived or been announced since the end of the 2018 baseball season.
- Food Options, Now and Coming SoonThere's now plenty of food options in the neighborhood. Click to see what's here, and what's coming.
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- Anacostia RiverwalkA bridge between Teague and Yards Parks is part of the planned 20-mile Anacostia Riverwalk multi-use trail along the east and west banks of the Anacostia River.
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- Virginia Ave. Tunnel ExpansionConstruction underway in 2015 to expand the 106-year-old tunnel to allow for a second track and double-height cars. Expected completion 2018.
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- Rail and Bus Times
Get real time data for the Navy Yard subway, Circulator, Bikeshare, and bus lines, plus additional transit information. - Rail and Bus Times
Get real time data for the Navy Yard subway, Circulator, Bikeshare, and bus lines, plus additional transit information. - Canal ParkThree-block park on the site of the old Washington Canal. Construction begun in spring 2011, opened Nov. 16, 2012.
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- Nationals Park21-acre site, 41,000-seat ballpark, construction begun May 2006, Opening Day March 30, 2008.
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- Washington Navy YardHeadquarters of the Naval District Washington, established in 1799.
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- Yards Park5.5-acre park on the banks of the Anacostia. First phase completed September 2010.
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- Van Ness Elementary SchoolDC Public School, closed in 2006, but reopening in stages beginning in 2015.
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- Agora/Whole Foods336-unit apartment building at 800 New Jersey Ave., SE. Construction begun June 2014, move-ins underway early 2018. Whole Foods expected to open in late 2018.
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- New Douglass BridgeConstruction underway in early 2018 on the replacement for the current South Capitol Street Bridge. Completion expected in 2021.
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- 1221 Van290-unit residential building with 26,000 sf retail. Underway late 2015, completed early 2018.
- NAB HQ/AvidianNew headquarters for National Association of Broadcasters, along with a 163-unit condo building. Construction underway early 2017.
- Yards/Parcel O Residential ProjectsThe Bower, a 138-unit condo building by PN Hoffman, and The Guild, a 190-unit rental building by Forest City on the southeast corner of 4th and Tingey. Underway fall 2016, delivery 2018.
- New DC Water HQA wrap-around six-story addition to the existing O Street Pumping Station. Construction underway in 2016, with completion in 2018.
- The Harlow/Square 769N AptsMixed-income rental building with 176 units, including 36 public housing units. Underway early 2017, delivery 2019.
- West Half Residential420-unit project with 65,000 sf retail. Construction underway spring 2017.
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- Novel South Capitol/2 I St.530ish-unit apartment building in two phases, on old McDonald's site. Construction underway early 2017, completed summer 2019.
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- 1250 Half/Envy310 rental units at 1250, 123 condos at Envy, 60,000 square feet of retail. Underway spring 2017.
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- Parc Riverside Phase II314ish-unit residential building at 1010 Half St., SE, by Toll Bros. Construction underway summer 2017.
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- 99 M StreetA 224,000-square-foot office building by Skanska for the corner of 1st and M. Underway fall 2015, substantially complete summer 2018. Circa and an unnamed sibling restaurant announced tenants.
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- The Garrett375-unit rental building at 2nd and I with 13,000 sq ft retail. Construction underway late fall 2017.
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- Yards/The Estate Apts. and Thompson Hotel270-unit rental building and 227-room Thompson Hotel, with 20,000 sq ft retail total. Construction underway fall 2017.
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- Meridian on First275-unit residential building, by Paradigm. Construction underway early 2018.
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- The Maren/71 Potomac264-unit residential building with 12,500 sq ft retail, underway spring 2018. Phase 2 of RiverFront on the Anacostia development.
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- DC Crossing/Square 696Block bought in 2016 by Tishman Speyer, with plans for 800 apartment units and 44,000 square feet of retail in two phases. Digging underway April 2018.
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- One Hill South Phase 2300ish-unit unnamed sibling building at South Capitol and I. Work underway summer 2018.
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- New DDOT HQ/250 MNew headquarters for the District Department of Transportation. Underway early 2019.
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- 37 L Street Condos11-story, 74-unit condo building west of Half St. Underway early 2019.
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- CSX East Residential/Hotel225ish-unit AC Marriott and two residential buildings planned. Digging underway late summer 2019.
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- 1000 South Capitol Residential224-unit apartment building by Lerner. Underway fall 2019.
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- Capper Seniors 2.0Reconstruction of the 160-unit building for low-income seniors that was destroyed by fire in 2018.
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- Chemonics HQNew 285,000-sq-ft office building with 14,000 sq ft of retail. Expected delivery 2021.
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Opened in 1906, the Virginia Avenue Tunnel is now a major thoroughfare for east coast rail traffic, running beneath the street and just south of the Southeast Freeway for 10 blocks. Construction began in spring 2015, and Virginia Avenue itself will be closed through 2018, although the cross streets remain mostly open to traffic and pedestrians, with periodic interruptions.
June 1, 2017 - A hint of what construction looked like along Virginia Avenue beginning in spring 2015. This is looking east (and downward) along Virginia Avenue at 3rd Street, after the new south tunnel had already been completed and the original (north) tunnel's existing walls demolished and new track bed laid.
April 14, 2018 - This is also the 300 block of Virginia Avenue, not quite one year later, with tunnel work in this block completed and streetscape work underway.
On June 13, 2014, the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the project was released. The chosen plan for construction out of a number of options is for new separate single track tunnel to be built, and the existing tunnel/track rehabilitated. Read the EIS for much more detail (about 450 pages more detail).
July 19, 2010 - Looking eastward from the New Jersey Avenue overpass into the start of the tunnel at 2nd Street, with Garfield Park to the left and the now-closed horse stables to the right. The Southeast Freeway looms above.
June 1, 2017 - A zoomed view of the same spot, showing the new south tunnel, completed in 2016 and now in use as the original tunnel at left has been demolished and is being rebuilt.
A video produced by the tunnel team showing what Virginia Avenue will look like after construction is completed, including the new bike and pedestrian paths on the south side of the street.
May 29, 2016 - The excavation for the second tunnel in the 300 block of Virginia, the block where private homes were within a few yards of the open trench. This tunnel was completed in 2016.
Feb. 28, 2016 - The 200 block of Virginia Avenue, with infrastructure being put in place as a long portion of the old tunnel's southern wall is demolished.
Feb. 28, 2016 - An example of the bridge decks built across Virginia Avenue at 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, and 8th Streets, to allow tunnel construction and traffic flow simultaneously.
June 10, 2012 - Third and Virginia, where the work done on the sidewalks and lawn of the revamped 225 Virginia/200 I office building ending up being for naught.
November 2, 2019 - The same location. 
August 1, 2010 - Third and Virginia, with the Capitol Quarter townhomes at right.
May 19, 2019 - The same location.
May 20, 2010 - Fourth at Virginia, with more townhouses to the right (set back farther than in the 300 block), and the 6th Street exit ramp from the freeway at left. The tunnel runs on a line a bit to the left of the street footprint, under the grass embankment, to match up with the footprint of the street east of 5th.
March 23, 2019 - The same location. (Note my slight move to the left, to better approximate where Virginia Avenue will run once the project is completed.)
July 12, 2015 - Another view of the 4th and Virginia intersection, this time looking north. This street, with one-way traffic coming underneath the freeway from Capitol Hill, is a major north-south route into and out of the neighborhood.
March 23, 2019 - The same location.
July 12, 2015 - The construction plan has brought about the closure of the little stub of I Street east of 4th and east of the alley on its south side. The "pocket park" in this location will be reconfigured once construction is completed, covering where I used to hook left to intersect with Virginia Avenue.
Jan. 24, 2006 - A not-properly-positioned photo looking east on Virginia Avenue near its intersection with 5th Street, back when Capper Seniors #1 was under construction.
November 4, 2019 - The same location, now a sea of construction barrels.
Nov. 11, 2007 - The terribly exciting stretch of Virginia between 5th and 7th, running just north of the Marine Bachelor Enlisted Quarters.
March 23, 2019 - The same location, showing the loss of the rightmost of the block's three lanes.
March 9, 2014 - Eighth and Virginia. The 11th Street Bridges project gave CSX an assist by demolishing the on-ramp that was once here (where the dirt is now) and moving it slightly northward.
March 23, 2019 - The same location, once again closed.
Sept. 6, 2015 - Looking east on Virginia to its now-closed intersection with 9th Street, and getting a peek at the amount of space taken by the project from Virginia Avenue Park.
Jan. 25, 2009 - Looking west on L Street at 11th, back in 2009. (The old outbound flyover to the 11th Street Bridge is visible at upper right.)
August 29, 2015 - The same location, with the tunnel construction visible at right (and not all that long after it had finally been all cleaned up from the 11th Street Bridges construction.)
July 12, 2015 - One casualty for the project's duration: the closure of the route to and from Garfield Park under the freeway (though the skateboarding area is still open [yay?]).
July 19, 2010 - The tunnel's eastern opening, at 12th Street north of M. (Hopefully there's room in the budget for a lawn mower and some landscapers.)
February 26, 2012 - Turning back and looking from Virginia Avenue Park at the iconic view westward along Virginia Avenue at 9th Street.
February 26, 2012 - Back to where we started, looking at the tunnel embankment at 2nd Street a few years before the start of construction.
Latest News
January 6, 2019
A Tour of the New Virginia Avenue. The Actual Road.
August 21, 2018
Dryy Coming to 55 M; August Doldrums Tidbit Catcher
May 21, 2018
Weekly Open Thread and Tidbit Catcher
January 30, 2018
Tuesday Tidbits: More Construction Looming, Onyx Sale, More
January 21, 2018
Liquor Store Aiming for New Jersey and L; Other Tidbits
November 14, 2017
Tuesday Tidbits: Short and Sweet
October 23, 2017
A Visual Catching Up on the Latest Goings-On
