March 26, 2008
by Bobbie Carroll, North Cleveland Park, Printed in the NW Current

Just to recap, Klingle Road runs under Connecticut Avenue, connecting neighborhoods on both sides of Rock Creek Park.  A three-quarters-of-a-mile stretch of the public road has been inoperable since 1991 due to DC Government failures to prevent collapse of a small segment near the Porter Street intersection and to repair the road after the collapse.

The land surrounding this public road was given to the District of Columbia in 1885 and operated as a road for 100 years.  Under Klingle Road, there are electric, gas, water and telephone lines that connect the east and west sides of Rock Creek Park. Among the many reasons Klingle Road should be repaired and reopened for vehicular traffic is the basic fact that heavy trucks need to access the road to maintain and repair these utilities.

The DC Council legislated the repair and reopening of Klingle Road for vehicular traffic in the Budget Support Act of 2004.  This important legislation reverses years of DC government failure to perform a fundamental responsibility of repairing crucial infrastructure.

Regrettably, the Federal Highway Administration is undermining the council's mandate and DC home rule with abusive administration of the environmental impact statement process, now in its 48 month.

At last, Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham and Mayor Adrian Fenty are including $2 million in the DC budget to move the project forward.  The funds will be used to finally clean up the road and prepare a water remediation plan that is necessary before the road can be constructed.  This initiative by Council member Graham and Mayor Fenty is a highly needed response to the Federal Highway Administration's obstruction.

DC funds should be used to rebuild the road.  Save the federal highway funds for another project.