Work Continues on Washington Street Streetscape Project

Alexandria continues working on a new southern gateway along S. Washington Street between Church and Gibbon streets.

The Washington Street streetscape improvement project in South Old Town began in March and will be completed as early as this fall.

The federally funded endeavor, which is part of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge project, includes improvements to street lighting, sidewalks and streetscape elements, traffic safety measures and some drainage work.

With an eye toward improving pedestrian safety, the project includes constructing 6-foot-minimum brick sidewalks and 6-foot landscaped buffers or tree wells between the street and sidewalks on both sides of the thoroughfare.

Other elements include installing accessible pedestrian signals with countdown timers and removing and replacing lighting fixtures, poles and bases.

The construction is expected to average three weeks per block side.

Work began on the west side of the 800 block of Washington Street, a retail-heavy block that includes Faccia Luna, Southside 815 and a new Wireless Zone, among other stores.

• See: Wireless Zone Opens in South Old Town

Early planning documents listed the 800 block of S. Washington Street as a proposed site for a Capital Bikeshare station.

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