Friday, February 20, 2009

D.C. Corridor Chock Epidemic

Contempt of the Medievalists

The proposed DC CUA-Brookland Small Area plan is not the only threat to major transportation corridors within Washington, D.C., particularly regarding or connecting to the built and un-built I-395.

Here's is a list of the most infamous transgressors:

Capital Square Townhouses
I-395 SW Freeway bottleneck pinch




Eakin-Youngentob "Capital Square" townhouses, on land plot between 6th, 7th, G Street SW and the SW Freeway, with row of 28 townhouses a mere 16 1/2 feet from SW Freeway retaining wall, one block south of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This 16 1/5 foot setback is significantly less then that of all of the other buildings along the southern side of the SW Freeway, which have 70-90 feet of setback.

This makes it more difficult and expensive to construct new retaining wall for tunnel roof (as the existing walls would not be likely to be so designed), hence keeping the existing SW Freeway in a configuration that divides DC SW - hence contrary to long term NCPC planning for the removal of the mass of elevated highways and railways that now cross over South Capital Street. This also makes it more difficult and expensive to improve safety and decrease congestion and pollution with mitigating the SW Freeway bottleneck southwards and westerly of the Center Leg -- hence more likely remaining a traffic bottleneck with ripple effects well into Virginia.

Increased costs required for Eminent Domain and Demolition for row of 28 townhouses : $30 million.

Increased costs required for obtaining construction staging area elsewhere, and for required extra construction equipment trips on local streets: $10 million by denying a logical staging area for achieving the long touted goal of constructing a new monumental replacement "14th Street Bridge"

http://wwwtripwithinthebeltway.blogspot.com/2008/07/takoma-dc-tranport-chock-developer_4323.html


Golden Rule Apartment
I-395 Center Leg (3rd Street) Tunnel on ramp blockage

Placing senior citizens in new apartment house that blocks the 2nd Street NW I-395 northbound tunnel on-ramp, placing greater traffic on a New Jersey Avenue where it established new migratory pattern of senior citizens carrying their groceries from food market owned by the same entity owning this apartment building.

Blocks currently unused on ramp built as a part of the 1978-82 3rd Street Tunnel north of Massachusetts Avenue for later use, hence increasing traffic load upon New Jersey Avenue north of K Street.

Establishes a migratory pattern of elderly pedestrians carrying groceries across New Jersey Avenue with its increased traffic load, with this new "Golden Rule" apartment building on the west side of New Jersey Avenue, with the closet grocery store being the "golden Rule" Market 1-2 blocks east.


Capital Gateway
I-395 NY Avenue Alternative Tunnel blockage

None of the official studies address the practicalities of constructing a tunnel directly beneath heavily traveled NY Avenue rather then partially alongside in undeveloped land, particularly at the spit where the existing cross RR bridge lands in the vicinity of Florida Avenue. Building beneath open adjacent land by definition will be less disruptive to traffic, yet officials say nothing about preserving an easement alongside New York Avenue, first with the Fed Ex building to the north, and now this project to the south.

http://wwwtripwithinthebeltway.blogspot.com/2008/08/washington-gateway-chock_11.html


CUA-Brookland Area Small Area Plan
North Central Freeway Tunnel Chock

This blocks any multi-modelization of the Metropolitan Branch RR other then the multiple level stacked elevated concept proposed in 1965.

http://wwwtripwithinthebeltway.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-obama-must-do-for-transportation.html

http://wwwtripwithinthebeltway.blogspot.com/2008/05/cuabrookland-transport-corridor-chock.html

Takoma Metro Area: Elevation 314, and Cedar Crossing DEATH TRAPS
North Central Freeway Tunnel Chock

http://wwwtripwithinthebeltway.blogspot.com/2011/11/takoma-dc-death-trap-residential.html

New residences in wood framed structures within 15 and 45 feet respectively of elevated heavy freight RR, largely within the footprint of a potential RR derailment, tumbling downward.


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