Starter line construction work
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010Benning Road isn’t the only Streetcar construction underway in DC–the “Anacostia Operations & Maintenance Facility & Initial Line Segment” is underway along Firth Sterling Street SE and South Capitol Street SE, adjacent to the Anacostia Metro.
Between South Capitol Street and the Suitland Parkway, Firth Sterling street is under construction: this is looking west:

The tracks are in place on the south side of the street while construction continues on the north. Looking back east from South Capitol Street:

At South Capitol Street and Firth Sterling Street, we see the official sign for this project:


Interestingly, the portion of the CSX tracks, which early in the planning were going to be used for streetcars, that used to cross South Capitol street have now been removed:

This break in the CSX tracks joins several similar trackage removals inside the Navy and Air Force complexes that make the last industrial purpose of this line–moving chlorine tank cars to the Blue Plains sewage treatment plant–impossible.
The new tracks continue across South Capitol Street:

Some of which are set in concrete:

The tracks continue several hundred yards to the south, but end far short of the main entrance to Bolling Air Force Base.

I find it somewhat interesting that the tracks have been laid on the west side of South Capitol Street. There is a pocket of industrial-ish land between 295 and South Capitol Street–on the east side of the street–that DC presently uses for maintenance vehicles and commercial drivers’ license testing which one might have thought would be a reasonable location for the maintenance facility. There is not very much space between Bolling Air Force base’s fence and South Capitol Street–presumably the tracks under construction here are intended to go all the way to Bolling’s main gate.
One final view, looking north at the end of the tracks. Note the extant CSX tracks on the left.

February 7th, 2010 @ 5:46 am
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