Final Construction on H Street NE Streetcar Tracks to Start at End of March

Streetcar tracks have forlornly sat along H Street NE since 2011, running from Third Street and down part of Benning Road—but without any connections to any terminus or turnaround at either end. That will soon change.

The D.C. Department of Transportation said at a public meeting earlier this week that work will start on the western segment of the tracks—the portion over the Hopscotch Bridge and to Union Station—on March 26 and proceed through October. At the same time, work will start on the eastern end of the tracks at Benning Road and Oklahoma Avenue, where tracks will connect to an eventual training and maintenance facility on the campus of Spingarn High School. During parts of the construction traffic lanes will be closed and parking restricted.

By October work will begin on installing overheard wires along H Street, and residents could start seeing the actual streetcars tested along the roadway by November. (The three streetcars D.C. currently has will be tested at a site in Anacostia in the spring.) That means that the streetcars could actually run in 2013, but let's be fair—early 2014 might be a safer bet.