https://mailchi.mp/72bbccf32934/overnight-closures-on-water-street-nw-for-oversized-deliveries?e=699a64eaf4
Greetings, Neighbors.
DC Water’s Potomac River Tunnel Project will temporarily close the 3500 block of Water Street NW, near the entrance to the Capital Crescent Trail, for the oversized deliveries of a crane and drill rig. The overnight road closures are scheduled for Tuesday, July 1, 2025, and again on Monday, July 7, 2025, weather permitting, between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
Temporary parking restrictions will also be in place near the Aqueduct. The Capital Crescent Trail will remain open and accessible. Flaggers will be present to help guide pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists around the area.
The crane and drill rig are critical to the construction of a facility designed to capture and redirect sewer overflows away from the Potomac River. The Potomac River Tunnel Project, when completed in 2030, will reduce combined sewer and stormwater discharges to the river during heavy rainfall by redirecting the captured wastewater to the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Water Street NW – Crane Delivery
- Start Date: Tuesday, July 1, 2025, weather permitting.
- Time: Tuesday from 8:00 p.m. to Wednesday at 6:00 a.m.
- Location: 3500 block of Water St NW
Water Street NW – Drill Rig Delivery
- Start Date: Monday, July 7, 2025, weather permitting.
- Time: Monday from 8:00 p.m. to Tuesday at 6:00 a.m.
- Location: 3500 block of Water St NW
Traffic Pattern Changes and Pedestrian/Bicyclist Detours
- Water Street NW will be closed to traffic in the 3500 block.
- Temporary parking restrictions will be in place near the Aqueduct.
- The Capital Crescent Trail will stay open, with flaggers guiding pedestrians and cyclists safely around the work zone.
- Please plan your travel routes accordingly and anticipate short delays.
Project Details
DC Water is constructing the Potomac River Tunnel and support structures to capture combined sewer overflows (CSOs), a mixture of sewage and stormwater, and redirect it to DC Water's Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant. The tunnel will begin operating in 2030. At the Capital Crescent Trail site location, DC Water is constructing an underground facility to connect to the sewer outfall and direct the overflows to the tunnel.
The project is needed to reduce overflows polluting the Potomac River and, ultimately, Chesapeake Bay. The tunnel also ensures compliance with the 2005 Federal Consent Decree entered by DC Water, the District of Columbia, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Justice, as amended in January 2016. The tunnel will reduce the volume of these overflows to the Potomac River by 93% and their frequency from approximately 74 events to four events in a year of average rainfall.
Learn more at dcwater.com/prt.
Contact Us
Project Email: dcpotomacrivertunnel@dcwater.com
Project Hotline: 202-972-1388
DC Water 24-hour Emergency: 202-612-3400