| U.S. Route 29 | ||||
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| Whitehurst Freeway | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by D.C. DOT | ||||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end: | US 29 in Virginia | |||
| North end: | US 29 in Maryland | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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United States Numbered Highways Numbered highways in Washington, D.C.
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U.S. Route 29 passes through the District of Columbia between Arlington, Virginia, and Silver Spring, Maryland, predominantly along surface streets.
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From Virginia, U.S. Route 29 enters the District of Columbia on the Key Bridge. It then bypasses Georgetown on the Whitehurst Freeway, an elevated highway over K Street and Water Street in the Georgetown neighborhood. Route 29 then travels along K Street through downtown Washington. From K Street, Route 29 turns left at 11th then right at Rhode Island Avenue, NW. U.S. 29 northbound turns left at 7th Street NW, where it becomes Georgia Avenue NW. Route 29 follows Georgia Avenue out of the District and into Maryland.
Various alignments of Route 29 used to exist, including segments along New Hampshire Avenue, Dupont Circle, 16th Street, and Alaska Avenue, N.W.
Prior to construction of the Whitehurst Freeway, the Georgetown waterfront experienced periods of prosperity and decline.[1] The structure was built by engineer Archibald Alexander.[2] It was named after Herbert C. Whitehurst, an early director of the D.C. highway department.[3]
Redevelopment of the Georgetown waterfront began in 2008. Though the freeway was last rebuilt in a project ending in 1998, the Government of the District of Columbia has proposed demolishing the Whitehurst Freeway and upgrading K Street to a 4- or 6-lane through street. One engineering difficulty in doing so is to connect K Street to Canal Road, which is about 60 feet (18 m) above the waterfront. Another engineering difficulty is to connect K Street to the Key Bridge. To address the latter difficulty, architect Arthur Cotton Moore has proposed replacing the present ramp from the northbound Key Bridge to the eastbound Whitehurst Freeway with a spiral ramp that would loop under the Key Bridge before connecting to eastbound K Street.
In 2007, Mayor Adrian Fenty halted plans for an environmental impact study for the proposed demolition, stating that his administration is "not going to be spending money on this particular issue. You do not have to worry."[4] The study would have cost nearly $1,000,000; the DC Department of Transportation spent more than $500,000 on a previous study that examined proposed alternatives to the highway.
Interstate 266, if built, would have had either a junction or a concurrency with Route 29.
At the eastern terminus of the Whitehurst Freeway, Route 29 meets the eastern terminus of Interstate 66.
| U.S. Route 29 | ||
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| Previous state: Virginia |
District of Columbia | Next state: Maryland |