Construction is underway on phase one of the $15 million Georgetown Waterfront Park.
Once phase one is complete, the park will run between K Street and the Potomac River and stretch from 34th Street to Wisconsin Avenue. Phases two and three will extend the park to the Kennedy Center and connect it to hundreds of miles of parklands on either side of the city.
The new park will include a promenade along the shoreline, hedges of native plants to replace aged concrete bulkheads, ornamental trees, rain gardens and lighting at night. The expanse is the first large-scale park to be built in the District in the last 30 years.
Construction is expected to take 18 months, according to the National Park Service. Once complete, the trails and parkland will run for 225 miles along the Potomac River. Bikers and joggers will be able to travel unimpeded from Mt. Vernon, Va. to Cumberland, Md.
As an added benefit, park construction should have minimal impact on area travel, There will, however, be some loss of parking. Parking lots between Potomac Street and Wisconsin Avenue will close permanently within the next few weeks.
“Construction in the area should not affect street traffic at all,” said Bill Line, spokesman for the National Park Service.
The park has received unanimous approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, the Mayor’s State Historic Preservation Office, the Commission of Fine Arts and Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E.
Although the Whitehurst Freeway arches over the future park site, DDOT spokesman Erik Linden said there are no current plans to remove the 60-year-old raised freeway connecting the Key Bridge and Virginia with downtown Washington.
