A New Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge for the Anacostia River in D.C.

Luz Lazo and Michael Laris report on the debut of the new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, which opened to the public on September 6 and replaced a 71-year-old bridge spanning the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C.

The new bridge is 1,445 feet long and cost $480 million—that latter figure making the new bridge the largest infrastructure project in the history of the District.

"The bridge is not finished. Vises hold up 2-by-4s as makeshift barriers on concrete lookout areas, and paving and connections aren’t complete on wide pedestrian pathways. But Monday’s bridge celebration — starting with a 5K run and walk led by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser — offered expansive views and the chance for many to consider a changing city," according to the article.

Vehicle traffic is expected to start crossing the bridge on Friday and Saturday of this week. "Runners, walkers and stroller-pushers began crossing the span about 9 a.m. Monday as an American flag waved from one of its towering white arches."

The article includes anecdotes and soundbites from the bridges debut on Labor Day. Lazo and Laris also sum up the relevance of the bridge's reopening relative to the larger cultural context and planning history of the District thusly:

The opening of the distinct structure with parallel arcs marks a milestone in the vision to turn the South Capitol Street Corridor into the grand boulevard that Pierre L’Enfant envisioned in his original plan for the nation’s capital. L’Enfant identified the corridor as a symbolic gateway into the District’s monumental core, one that has not been realized as the road maintained a freeway-type configuration that lacked adequate pedestrian and cycling facilities.