Politics & Government

Wisconsin Avenue Impacted by Planned Washington Gas Upgrades

The work area will run from 34th Street in Georgetown to Massachusetts Avenue near the Cathedral.

Washington Gas will be trenching sections of Wisconsin Avenue to replace 6,000 feet of cast iron gas mains, according to officials. The work is being done between 34th Street and Massachusetts Avenue in conjunction with the Wisconsin Avenue Streetscape Project.

"We’re going to try not to trench the whole street," said Jack Morrow, the manager of DC construction for Washington Gas.

The plan is to insert replacement pipes into the existing mains in some sections, which would require a smaller work area. Though there will be sections where 40-foot length of pipe will have to be installed, requiring a larger work area.

Find out what's happening in Georgetownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The District Department of Transportation's contractor began work on their part of the project in April. Though work was supposed to have begun concurrently, Washington Gas is only just now notifying customers of the plan to start digging and changing out gas lines.

Customer notification letters are going out to the estimated 29 residences that will be impacted by the work, explained Stephen Jumper, the Washington Gas director of corporate public policy.

Find out what's happening in Georgetownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Several Glover Park commissioners were not pleased that the road would be re-trenched in sections and that work would delay the completion date.

“You guys are late to the party,” said Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) Brian Cohen.

The utility work is partially responsible for a two-month setback in the project timeline; improvements to also extended the construction. The entire streetscape project is now expected to be wrap up by November.

Georgetown ANC commissioner Ed Solomon also expressed frustration with Washington Gas. Solomon said he was concerned about the disruption work would cause at the intersection where and already make for complicated traffic patterns. He asked that the utility company present at the September Georgetown ANC meeting to explain what impact the work would have on 34th Street and Wisconsin Avenue.

Patch will continue to provide updates on construction impacts on Georgetown and Glover Park.


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