2 years of delays, detours on New York Ave.

The Great Mount Calvary Baptist Church and Calvary Christian Academy, in the Brentwood neighborhood, is just blocks off a stretch of Rhode Island Avenue Northeast designated as an alternative route.

Church elder Ron Allen said the students use a ramp to cross an intersection on the busy road, but he worries about other pedestrians with the potential for more traffic.

“The safety at this intersection, there have been quite a few accidents that have happened there. And that I think will increase the chances of accidents happening there,” he said.

The four alternative routes are: Montana Avenue to Rhode Island Avenue to North Capitol Street; West Virginia Avenue to Florida Avenue; South Dakota Avenue to Rhode Island Avenue to North Capitol Street; and the Benning Road and East Capitol Street exits on Interstate 295.

Transportation department spokesman John Lisle said the project was designed to minimize the impact to the rail lines underneath and that the city doesn’t want to direct people down neighborhood streets.

“We’re still trying to keep folks on major routes,” he said.

Mr. Tuss said the way motorists respond to the bridge work will help determine how much traffic flows into side streets.

“They are being encouraged to switch to transit, bus, carpool - anything that will reduce the number of cars,” he said. “That will likely happen to some degree. But what you’re more likely to find is people altering their normal routes. Ultimately, when these projects hit, we see drivers trying to figure things out for a couple of days. About a week or so after, a new traffic pattern emerges. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be pretty.”

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