The National Park Service is advising motorists in the District to find alternate routes around the Lincoln Memorial over the next 18 months while construction crews work to make Lincoln Circle and connecting streets safer for pedestrians and drivers.
The $12.2 million project is scheduled to begin Monday. It will be carried out in four phases, affecting different areas of the circle and connecting roadways, including Henry Bacon Drive and 23rd Street, through the fall of 2005.
“We’re advising drivers to seek an alternate route,” said William J. Line, a spokesman for the Park Service. “Our goal is to keep two lanes of traffic open in both directions during rush hour, but I stress that this is a goal.”
Construction will proceed counterclockwise, beginning on the north side of the memorial and ending on the south side. Crews on Monday will shut down the far right lane of outbound Lincoln Circle from 23rd Street to Arlington Bridge.
Mr. Line said that beginning in July, motorists will be forced to turn left onto 23rd Street northbound from the far left lane of inbound Memorial Bridge.
He said the Park Service cannot predict any closures or new traffic patterns beyond the summer, but said officials will keep commuters posted as each phase of the construction begins. Construction is not expected to shift south of the memorial until spring of 2005.
“As with any project of this size, there will be a temporary inconvenience,” Mr. Line said. “We hope people will be patient.”
Lon Anderson, director of public and government relations for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said the timing of the construction might be bad since the area’s tourist season has already begun.
“Driving in this city is already an exercise in futility for most tourists. It’s absolutely ludicrous to have major road construction projects around our most heavily visited monuments during the height of the tourism season,” Mr. Anderson said. “It makes this city more confusing and less scenic.”
Sections of E Street and Pennsylvania Avenue around the White House have been closed to vehicular traffic since 1995, when the Oklahoma City bombing prompted security concerns. Mayor Anthony A. Williams and D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, both Democrats, have blamed the shutdowns for aggravating traffic congestion in the District.
Mr. Line said Park Service officials hope the construction on Lincoln Circle will help relieve the District’s traffic congestion and improve pedestrian safety. The District had 19 pedestrian fatalities last year, and one so far this year, according to statistics compiled by the Metropolitan Police Department.
“Our top concern is the safety of visitors, primarily pedestrians and bikers,” Mr. Line said. “We also want to improve traffic flow in and around the memorial.”
The project will add a private lane for the Tourmobile — a private bus company contracted by the Park Service that takes tourists to the memorial.
It also will include new street lighting, pedestrian crossings with signals on the north side of the circle, new loading and unloading areas for tour buses, and improved handicapped access, along with new and replaced visitor facilities.
Crews also will repave Lincoln Circle and surrounding streets and add new signs.
The east side of the memorial is to remain a pedestrian plaza.
Mr. Anderson said he does not expect tourists or local residents to be patient with the upcoming construction, but added that he is encouraged by the prospect of the new signs.
“Hallelujah,” Mr. Anderson said. “Maybe the Lincoln Memorial will end up with the only good signage in town.”
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