Adams Morgan residents and visitors walking along 18th Street NW this week were in for an unpleasant surprise.
Ongoing construction on the neighborhood’s main drag blocked sidewalks on both sides of the street near the intersection with Belmont Road, forcing pedestrians to share the road with cars and construction workers or find another route.
Officials said the closures were an error, caused when Washington Gas was replacing high pressure gas lines on one side of the street and the District Department of Transportation was working on the other.
“That’s not the ideal scenario,” said DDOT spokeswoman Monica Hernandez. “Our goal is always to maintain at least one side of the sidewalk.”
One sidewalk was reopened Wednesday, said Thomas Pipkin, a community relations liaison for the project, and utility work should be done by the end of January, Hernandez said.
Officials also said the area was open for business, despite the messy construction.
“That area remains open. We are encouraging people to come back and patronize the businesses,” Hernandez said.
