May 9, 2014

Dear Resident:


On Thursday, April 24, 2014, at the monthly First Street Tunnel Forum Meeting, DC Water
discussed the removal of planter boxes (tree boxes) at the intersection of First and V Streets NW
and north and south along First Street near V Street. Removal of the planter boxes is necessary to
safely accommodate traffic lanes during construction of the First Street Diversion Chamber.
Following the discussion at the Tunnel Forum Meeting, members of the community expressed
concern regarding the safety of pedestrians in the area.

The purpose of this letter is to describe in more detail the work involved and the additional measures
which will be taken to ensure the safety of area pedestrians.

Throughout the design phase of the First Street Tunnel Project, DC Water developed mitigation
requirements to minimize construction impacts based on input from project stakeholders including,
but not limited to,
DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services (DC FEMS),
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD),
District Department of Transportation (DDOT),
MedStar Washington Hospital Center,
Childrens National Hospital, MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital,
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and
the Bloomingdale community.


Major areas of concern that were common among project stakeholders during these coordination
efforts were parking and traffic impacts. Based on feedback received from the stakeholders, DC
Water developed a Maintenance of Traffic Plan that maintained two-way traffic along First Street
NW at all times during construction, except for an eight-month period when the First Street
Diversion Chamber will be under construction. During this eight-month period, First Street NW
will be limited to one lane northbound only.

The following narrative describes the technical basis for temporarily eliminating parking and
removing the existing curb and planter boxes along First Street NW, in the vicinity of the V Street
Construction Staging Area.



May 9, 2014
Maintenance of Traffic
Page 2 of 8


As illustrated in Figure 1, the existing First Street Trunk Sewer is located along the center of First
Street NW. The sewer terminates at V Street NW. Overflow at this termination point is a primary
contributor to flooding in the neighborhood. In order to divert flow from this sewer, a diversion
chamber (First Street Diversion Chamber) must be constructed at the end of the pipe to send flow
(that typically would flood the area) to the new First Street Tunnel, which will be located
approximately 80 feet below the existing sewer. The diversion chamber is required to be
approximately 45 feet deep to capture flows from the sewer and deliver them to the tunnel. (See
Figure 3 for more specifics on the First Street Diversion Chamber.)


Figure 1. Intersection of First and V Streets NW showing the Existing First Street Trunk Sewer

May 9, 2014
Maintenance of Traffic
Page 3 of 8





Because the excavation required to construct the First Street Diversion Chamber is very deep,
Skanska will need to support the ground around the perimeter of the proposed structure using
concrete cylinders called secant piles. The secant piles will support the ground and prevent
ground movements around the excavation, minimizing impacts to adjacent structures. Figure 2
illustrates a typical secant pile wall, which was described to the community during the J anuary 2014
outreach meetings.




What is a Secant Pile?
9" for guide wall

Guide wall

8"to site perimeter fence
6"8"concrete cover at secant pile

3'-8" 4'-4" distance
fromedge of permanent
structure to site
perimeter fence

Very common type of support used for
vertical excavation in areas with high
water table
Verti cal steel soldi er pil es used
to support the earth load
Excellent for water cutoff
Rigid walls good for protecting
adjacent structures
Secant pile construction steps (top diagram):
Step 1 Install guide wall s

Step 2 Install secondary wall piles
(green) act as lagging
Step 3 Install primary wall piles with
soldier pile (blue) take the load
Excavate and install struts (cross-supports,
shown in photo at right)
3" construction tolerance
TOP PLAN VIEW
Edge of permanentstructure
Steel section: 18" 24"



Figure 2. Images of Typical Secant Pile Wall















May 9, 2014
Maintenance of Traffic
Page 4 of 8





Figure 3 illustrates the eastern secant pile wall and construction staging area necessary to construct
the First Street Diversion Chamber. As illustrated, most of the travel area along First Street NW will
be used, leaving only 5 feet between the construction staging area fence line and existing curb. This
distance is not enough to maintain the minimum travel lane requirement of 10 feet. Therefore, the
curb and planter boxes need to be removed to accommodate traffic.

A temporary 4-foot-wide sidewalk will be installed for use while the First Street Diversion Chamber
is being constructed.


Figure 3. Site Plan of V Street Construction Staging Area and Exi sting Curb Conditions









May 9, 2014
Maintenance of Traffic
Page 5 of 8




Figure 4 illustrates the plan and general cross-section of the proposed northbound travel lane along
First Street NW with the modified curb line. The purpose of the reinforced concrete barrier shown
in the cross-section is to safely separate vehicular traffic from pedestrians using the sidewalk. The
10-ft wide lane for vehicular travel plus the thickness of the proposed reinforced concrete barrier
and buffer distance from the construction staging area fence totals approximately 12 feet.
Therefore, the existing curb, planter boxes, and portions of the sidewalk will temporarily be
removed to support traffic operations in the areas shown on Figure 5. Parking will also be
restricted in this area to accommodate the lane shift and travel lane northbound.



Figure 4. Site Plan and Cross-section of V Street Construction Staging Area and Modified Curb Line






May 9, 2014
Maintenance of Traffic
Page 6 of 8



Figure 5. Addresses Surrounding the Construction Staging Area. For addresses shown in green,
please remove any personal items from the planter boxes that you wish to save (bushes, shrubs, ornamental
grasses, border stones, or other materials) by May 30, 2014.





















May 9, 2014
Maintenance of Traffic
Page 7 of 8







After the eastern portion of the First Street Diversion Chamber is completed, two-way travel will
resume through this intersection. At that time, Skanska will complete construction on the other
portions of the diversion chamber as shown in Figure 6.





Figure 6. Two-way Maintenance of Traffic Plan at Fi rst and V Streets NW



May 9, 2014
Maintenance of Traffic
Page 8 of 8



The proposed Maintenance of Traffic Plan to accommodate First Street NW travel was developed
in accordance with the DDOT-approved traffic study and meets District standards (including
Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines), as well as the requirements of the project
stakeholders. Upon completion of the work at the intersection, structures will be restored to equal
or better conditions.

In conjunction with Skanska, DC Water will continuously monitor this area to ensure safe travel is
maintained for both pedestrians and vehicular traffic. If issues should arise with the proposed plan,
DC Water will revisit and revise the traffic measures with the appropriate level of stakeholder input.

Mitigating construction impacts to the project stakeholders is of the utmost importance to DC Water
and Skanska. We understand that certain services (e.g., trash and recycling pickup) may be
impacted as part of the implementation of this project. We will work directly with residents to
ensure their needs are met.

Please note that while DDOT has approved the overall plan of maintaining travel lanes along First
Street NW during construction of the V Street Facilities, they have not yet approved the details
associated with the concrete barrier and sidewalk (e.g., materials, heights, widths). DC Water and
Skanska are currently pursuing the required permits to complete the work at the V Street
Construction Staging Area through District agencies, including DDOT. Therefore, some of the
temporary details associated with the maintenance of traffic plan may change prior to construction.

We will continue discussions on this project with you at the next Tunnel Forum Meeting on
Thursday, May 29, 2014. We want to stress that this plan was developed with your safety in mind.
We look forward to working with you and toward our shared goals of mitigating flooding and
restoring your neighborhood to as beautiful as it was before construction, and better.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the hotline at 844-FST-INFO (844-378-4636) and
we look forward to seeing you on May 29
th
.


Sincerely,



Tom Lindberg
DC Clean Rivers Project / First Street Tunnel Public Outreach Lead


c: Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie, Ward 5
J ames M. Cheeks, J r., Manager, Transportation Operations Administration, DDOT
Dierdre N. Porter, Fifth District Commander, MPD