The Whitney Young Memorial Bridge is a bridge that carries East Capitol Street across the Anacostia River and Kingman Lake in Washington, D.C. in the United States. Finished in 1955, it was originally called the East Capitol Street Bridge. It was renamed for civil rights activist Whitney Young in early 1974.Bowman, LaBarbara. "Calvert St. Span Renamed for Ellington." The Washington Post. December 12, 1974.Some sources say the renaming came in 1973. See: Kelly, John F. "Bridges Carry Bits of History Along With the Traffic." The Washington Post. April 21, 2005. The bridge is long, its six lanes are wide, and it has 15 spans resting on 14 piers. It passes over the southern end of Kingman Island and splits into C Street NE and Independence Avenue SE at the site of the former Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and the New Stadium at RFK Campus on its western end.
Planning The need for a new bridge spanning the Anacostia River was first identified in 1949 after worsening traffic at Barney Circle led to widespread citizen complaints."Need for 2d Span Across Anacostia Held Urgent." Washington Post. March 13, 1949. The bridge was proposed to cross the Anacostia by extending East Capitol Street over the river.Winship, Thomas. "Anacostia Bridge at Mass. Ave. Proposed." The Washington Post. October 31, 1949. This bridge was opposed by the National Capital Park and Planning Commission (NCPPC), which asked that a bridge be built by extending Massachusetts Avenue SE through the undeveloped Hill East/Reservation 13 area and connecting it with its namesake street in the Greenway neighborhood on the east side of the river. The Commission was supported by an influential group of business people and civic leaders known as the Committee of 100 on the Federal City."Massachusetts Ave. Bridge Favored by Planning Head." The Washington Post. December 10, 1949. D.C. officials, however, opposed this route for fear of the negative effects it would have on nearby Gallinger Hospital (later renamed D.C. General Hospital)."Authorities Oppose Bridge at Gallinger." The Washington Post. November 19, 1949. On December 29, 1949, the three D.C. Commissioners (then the sole government of the District of Columbia) approved a bridge at East Capitol Street.Lyons, Richard. "East Capitol St. Site Favored for Bridge." The Washington Post. December 30, 1949.
But just three weeks later, the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge opened across the Anacostia River, alleviating traffic congestion in southeast."Young Says: Capital Span Relieves S.E. Traffic Ills." The Washington Post. January 22, 1950. A few days later, the NCPPC voted to suspend approval for any new bridge across the Anacostia River until traffic patterns and congestion around the existing bridges were resolved and the need for a new span made clear.Andrews, Dorothea. "Board Vetoes Anacostia Bridge Plan." The Washington Post. January 27, 1950. Federal engineers said that study would take two months."East Capitol Bridge Decision to Wait." The Washington Post. January 29, 1950. Members of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Maryland, whose state would be impacted by eastbound traffic from any new bridge, favored the East Capitol Street site and encouraged the D.C. Commissioners to bring the fight to Congress for resolution."D.C. Asked to Draft Bill for E. Capitol Street Span." The Washington Post. February 17, 1950. In early March 1950, the Subcommittee on District Appropriations of the House Committee on Appropriations turned down a request to fund a study of the Massachusetts Avenue site, and the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia of the House Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments held hearings which supported the D.C. Commissioners."Bridge Site Argument Rekindled." The Washington Post. March 8, 1950. The Subcommittee on the District of Columbia estimated that reconstructing ramps and reconfiguring traffic patterns around existing bridges would cost $9.5 million, while building a new bridge would cost about the same. Federal highway officials also testified that the bridge would help ease access to Maryland Route 214, which was originally planned to connect with the Baltimore–Washington Parkway at the District line but which had been forced into a more southerly direction.Ryan, Edward F. "E. Capitol Bridge Saves Planning Blunder, House Group Told." The Washington Post. March 10, 1950. Members of Congress inspected both the Massachusetts Avenue SE and East Capitol Street sites,"Congressmen Inspect Proposed Bridge Sites." The Washington Post. March 18, 1950. and the House Subcommittee approved the East Capitol span in mid-March 1950."Bridge Confusion." The Washington Post. March 27, 1950.
A $395,000 contract studying the two sites was granted to the J. E. Greiner Company of Baltimore, Maryland, on September 9, 1950."Contract Let For Planning E. Capitol Span." The Washington Post. September 10, 1950. The company was also asked to study whether the approaches from the west to the East Capitol Street span would travel along that street or be divided between Independence Avenue SE and C Street NE. D.C. highway officials gave their approval to the East Capitol Street span on May 1, 1950."City Heads Give Their Approval to Bridge Plan." The Washington Post. May 2, 1951. The Greiner Co. had recommended a $2.7 million steel plate girder bridge. The bridge was designed to pass under Minnesota Avenue SE and the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad tracks on the east side of the river and connect with Kenilworth Avenue NE. The cost of the eastern approaches was estimated at $6.7 million. The western approaches would split over Kingman Island and connect Independence Avenue SE and C Street NE. Work on the western approaches was estimated at $2.3 million. The NCPPC approved the plan on May 10,"East Capitol Street Span Approved." The Washington Post. May 11, 1951. and the United States Army Corps of Engineers did so on August 20."Army Clears E. Capitol St. Bridge Plans." The Washington Post. August 21, 1951. But after a final site visit from the NCPPC in September 1951, the approaches were moved slightly westward."Park Board Today Tours Bridge Site." The Washington Post. September 13, 1951; "Parade Ground Gains By New Bridge Plan." The Washington Post. September 14, 1951. The new approaches required dredging from Kingman Lake and replacing it with sand and gravel to create a gently curving peninsula that extended into the western side of the lake."D.C. Will Ask Bids Today on E. Capitol Span." The Washington Post. May 23, 1952. of fill would be used to raise the peninsula above the low water mark, and the western approaches built on the new land.
Construction
Bids for the entire $12 million construction project were solicited on May 23, 1952. The Arlington, Virginia, firm of J.A. LaPorte Inc. won the dredging contract, and the D.C. firm of Morauer & Hartzell won the fill contract."Contract Let For Bridge Approaches." The Washington Post. July 9, 1952. The work was expected to take 15 months. The NCPPC approved the city's plans to connect the new bridge to Kenilworth Avenue NE on December 13, 1952,Zagoria, Sam. "Plans Group Unanimous In Decision On All Spans." The Washington Post. December 13, 1952. and a $5.5 million plan to widen Kenwilworth Avenue into a divided, 10-lane freeway on March 24, 1953."Kenilworth Link to Bridge Is Approved." The Washington Post. March 25, 1953. D.C. officials paid $250,000 to buy the land for the exit ramps onto Kenilworth Avenue."D.C. Will Pay $250,000 for Bridge Ramp." The Washington Post. January 23, 1953. Construction on the western approaches was blocked for a month after residents of Suitland, Maryland, (upset by loud trucks passing down their streets) won a month-long restraining order against the project so that contractors could devise and implement a noise-abatement program."E. Capitol St. Span Work Blocked by Suitlanders." The Washington Post. April 2, 1953.
Construction on the bridge itself began in 1953. Baltimore Contractors, Inc. won the $1.2 million contract to build the bridge's substructure, and DeLuca Davis Construction (also of Baltimore) won the $2.2 million contract to the build the superstructure."Bids Received For Anacostia River Span." The Washington Post. April 11, 1953; "E. Capitol Bridge Contract Let." The Washington Post. May 9, 1953. District officials sought approval from Congress to spend $4.3 million in District of Columbia highway budget funds in September 1953.Lyons, Richard E. "Funds to Finish E. Capitol Span Asked for 1955." The Washington Post. September 10, 1953. The city also applied for $4.2 million in federal matching highway funds to help finish the bridge. Driving of piles for the foundation began in December 1953. About 120 individuals helped construct the bridge deck.
All the substructure and most up the superstructure had been completed by August 1954.Bassett, Grace. "New Anacostia River Bridge Takes Shape." The Washington Post. August 2, 1954. Widening of East Capitol Street east of the river was also completed in 1954."East Capitol Street Bridge Listed as Accomplishment." The Washington Post. September 11, 1954. Completion was expected in October 1955.Bassett, Grace. "E. Capitol Street Bridge Open in October '55." The Washington Post. September 29, 1954. By late September 1954, 73 percent of the superstructure had been completed and only stone protections for the piers remained to be finished for the substructure. District transportation officials also said that ramps and overpasses for the Kenilworth Avenue exits were almost complete by this time as well, but the railroad track underpass (being built by S. Wikstrom Co.) was only 46 percent complete and not due for final work until November 1955. Officials said the bridge would open once Kenny Construction finished connecting the railroad underpass to East Capitol Street in the east.
Kenny Construction began work on the final $2.3 million phase of the bridge project on November 6, 1954."5th Phase Of E. Capitol Bridge Begun." The Washington Post. November 7, 1954. Work was due to end in 540 days. The Greenway Apartments (located at 3539 A Street SE) obtained an injunction in February 1955 stopping work for a month on the project after alleging that the excavations for the road would affect the foundation of their building."Greenway Gets Stay on Bridge Job." The Washington Post. February 26, 1955.
The East Capitol Street Bridge opened on November 10, 1955.Bassett, Grace. "E. Capitol St. Span Opened In the Rain." The Washington Post. November 11, 1955. Tippy Stringer, a local television personality at WRC-TV (and later the wife of NBC news anchor Chet Huntley), cut the ribbon opening the bridge. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert V. Murray drove the first vehicle across the bridge. About 300 people attended the ceremony, which was held in a driving rain. Also present were all three D.C. Commissioners and Rep. George Hyde Fallon (chair of the House Committee on Public Works).
Bridge history and renaming
The bridge and approaches on the west side were built through what had been planned as Anacostia Park, a recreation area and National Sports Center. Construction of the bridge required redesign of that park, and abandonment of the Kingman Lake feature of the plan. The western approach included an ellipse that was to serve as a parade ground, but by 1957 planners were already viewing it as a stadium site.
In 1957, the Kenilworth Expressway was constructed to connect the bridge to the new Baltimore-Washington Parkway and the eastern approach was changed to include ramps between the two. This project rendered the downstream sidewalk obsolete for more than 50 years. By 1964, the Anacostia Freeway had been extended north to meet the Kenilworth Expressway, which was later subsumed by the freeway.