Reported as a footnote;
with no mention of costs

This $47-118 million interim project has gone reported as a footnote in that upon the larger $300 million SCS bridge replacement project in The Washington Post , with no mention of this interim project's $47 to 118 million cost for its temporary ramps

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2006/04/12/AR2006041200921.html

For Commuters, A New Way to Travel Through The District

$300 Million Span to Replace Aging Douglass Memorial

By Lyndsey Layton

Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 13, 2006; Page T03

Drive over the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge from Anacostia toward the U.S. Capitol and try to spot the river's edge. Look hard for the Washington Navy Yard on the right or Buzzard Point on the left, where the Potomac and Anacostia rivers swirl together.

You won't see much. Truncated by ramps, the vista consists of smokestacks, the top two floors of a U-Haul self-storage building and a Budweiser billboard.

That's why city engineers and planners are excited by plans to replace the 56-year-old Douglass bridge with an approximately $300 million new span designed to emphasize the waterfront and create a grand southern gateway to the heart of the District and up to the U.S. Capitol.

"This is an opportunity to provide an iconic structure, to bring people's attention back to the waterfront," said Kathleen Penney, deputy chief engineer of the District's Department of Transportation….

Before work begins on the new bridge, the city will improve the Douglass Bridge this summer as a stopgap measure to ensure its safety, Pourciau said. The work includes new lighting, better sidewalks and a paint job.

Workers will also replace two blocks of the elevated viaduct from O Street to Potomac Avenue with an at-grade road to improve pedestrian access along South Capitol Street. In addition, the city must construct an interchange at Suitland Parkway and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.

This is likewise the end note of Washington, D.C. Mayor Williams press release at

http://ddot.dc.gov/ddot/cwp/view,a,1252,q,635484,ddotNav_GID,1610.asp

Press Release for Immediate Release

Friday, March 10, 2006

Mayor Williams Unveils Possible Designs for New South Capitol Street/Frederick Douglass Bridge

(Washington, DC) Mayor Anthony A. Williams unveiled and invited public comment on four possible designs for a new South Capitol Street/Frederick Douglass Bridge over the Anacostia River. Developed by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), the designs are for a distinctive addition to the District's skyline on the Anacostia to boost the South Capitol Gateway and help fulfill the goals of the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative (AWI). View the South Capitol Street Bridge Study website.

"DC Congress woman Eleanor Holmes Norton described her ongoing work with the House Appropriations Committee to assure the funding of the new bridge. To see the bridge concepts in 3-D animation, click here."

"South Capitol Street is one of our city's most significant gateways leading to the heart of downtown and to our Nation's democratic institutions—the Capitol, the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress—and one that many people will use as they travel to and from our new baseball stadium in Southeast," said Mayor Williams. "The South Capitol Street corridor is critical to reconnecting our city to the Anacostia River and to bringing together neighborhoods on both sides of the river."

Construction of the new bridge will start in 2011. A community meeting is planned for early April to solicit comments on the designs and update the public on the work on the corridor. The draft Environmental Impact Statement will be released this June.

Mayor Williams also thanked Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton, Steny Hoyer and Joe Knollenberg, key congressional supporters of the new bridge. The new bridge is budgeted at $250 million, with 80 percent expected to come from federal funds and 20 percent from District money.

While the planning proceeds for the new bridge, major work will start shortly to transform the existing South Capitol Street Bridge. Starting this summer, the bridge will be rehabilitated to ensure its continued safety and use. The work includes new lighting, better sidewalks and a new coat of paint. In addition two blocks of the elevated viaduct will be removed and replaced with an at-grade roadway, greatly improving the appearance and pedestrian access along South Capitol Street.

Both reports mention the $250 or $300 million cost of the bridge project, but can not bother mentioning the $47-118 million of this interim project, which would represent a roughly 20% to 30% effective increase in the bridge project.