14th Street Bridge Complex

Easily the most traveled bridge system in Washington, D.C., the 14th Street Bridge Complex consists of five different bridges. Three of these carry Interstate 395 highway traffic, one carries the Yellow Line of the Washington Metrorail, and one carries a combination of passenger and freight rail.

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The bridge complex as it appeared from above in 1959.

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The Long Bridge is the southernmost bridge currently erected in the complex and is the latest in many iterations of a bridge at this location. The first was built before the War of 1812 and used as a tactical bridge for military purposes during the Civil War. Throughout several floods and constant usage, a number of different versions were built until the current Long Bridge was finished in 1904. This aging bridge now carries CSX Freight, Amtrak, and VRE services. DDOT is currently performing a study to replace, modify, or stand pat with the current rail bridge. Find more information here!

Bridges to carry the new Interstate Highway system through Washington were built in 1950, 1962, and 1972. These three bridges (George Mason Memorial, Rochambeau, and Arland Williams Jr. Memorial) helped replace the Highway Bridge, an obsolete steel truss bridge removed in 1967.These bridges carry I-395 between Virginia and Washington, D.C. DDOT has rehabilitated these bridges with major projects in both 1984 and 2011. These bridges have more than twice as many cars pass over them as any other bridge complex in the District. 

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14th Street Bridge Complex