Clara Barton Parkway Cantilever Project Scoping Materials

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The George Washington Memorial Parkway, a unit of the National Park Service, is proposing rehabilitation/replacement of the cantilever structure and adjacent retaining walls on Clara Barton Parkway in Glen Echo, MD. Additionally, NPS is considering demolition of an associated feature, the Glen Echo overpass.

The cantilever section is significant as an original design feature of the Clara Barton Parkway, which was constructed between 1957 and 1965. The proposed project involves rehabilitation/replacement of 1,409 feet of a cantilever structure and 2,048 feet of adjacent retaining walls on the Clara Barton Parkway between Cabin John Parkway and the Macarthur Boulevard exit ramp. The cantilever structure and adjacent retaining walls are exhibiting widespread deterioration, which will eventually result in reduced the load-carrying capacity of the cantilever structure and severely impact its structural integrity. As such, NPS is evaluating several alternatives to either rehabilitate or replace the cantilever structure and retaining walls.

The Glen Echo overpass was built in 1961 as part of the later abandoned plan to expand the Clara Barton Parkway to four travel lanes inbound into Washington, DC. As the parkway expansion never came to fruition, the structure has remained unused by traffic since its completion. The Glen Echo overpass crosses over the northbound lane of the Clara Barton Parkway but is unconnected to the surrounding roadway network. The bridge is deteriorating and as such, the NPS is evaluating whether demolition is appropriate at this time based on the future risk and needs for rehabilitation that the structure is likely to require if left in place.

The objective of this project is to provide a reliable and safe structure that will carry the Clara Barton Parkway in a manner that maintains to the extent possible the historic character of the structure and minimizes the required closure of the structure during construction.

OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

The National Environmental Policy Act requires an early and open process for determining the scope of issues to be addressed and for identifying potential significant issues related to the proposed action. Issues describe problems or concerns associated with impacts from current environmental conditions and operations, as well as problems or concerns that may arise from the implementation of the proposed action. The purpose of this announcement is to notify members of the community and other stakeholders of an opportunity to assist the NPS in identifying potential environmental issues. Your participation in this process is greatly appreciated. A public scoping period will be held March 17 through April 16, 2025, during which the NPS will accept comments concerning the scope of issues to address in an Environmental Assessment (EA). Comments received during the scoping period will be used to refine the resource issues analyzed in the EA.

In addition to the opportunity to provide comments during the scoping period, the NPS will hold a public scoping meeting on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. EST on the GoTo Webinar platform. The meeting will last approximately 1.5‐hours and there will be an opportunity to submit questions.

At the time of the meeting, join on your computer or mobile device via this link: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8729674168353604952

You can also call into the meeting using the toll-free phone number 1-877-309-2074 and Phone Webinar ID: 674-488-941.

The recording of the public meeting will be posted at this site.

Document Content:

clara_barton_cantilever_public_scoping_notice_2025.pdf   (2.1 MB, PDF file) clara_barton_cantilever_public_scoping_presentation_508_20250319.pdf   (6.5 MB, PDF file) Disclaimer: Links within the above document(s) were valid as of the date published. Note: Some of the files may be in PDF format and can be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. You may download a free copy of from Adobe Systems.