page_title: 11th Street Bridges
section_title: Original bridges
hierarchical_section_title: 11th Street Bridges / Original bridges
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of the 1907 built Anacostia Bridge with the under construction 11th Street Bridge next to it.
context_page_description: The 11th Street Bridges are a complex of three bridges across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., United States. The bridges convey Interstate 695 across the Anacostia to its southern terminus at Interstate 295 and DC 295. The bridges also connect the neighborhood of Anacostia with the rest of the city of Washington.
  The first bridge at the site, constructed about 1800, played a role in the War of 1812. It burned in 1846, but was repaired. A second bridge was constructed in 1873, and replaced in 1907. A modern, four-lane bridge replaced the older bridge in 1965, and a second four-lane bridge added in 1969. In 2009, construction began on three spans to replace the 1965 and 1969 bridges. The northbound bridge opened to traffic in December 2011 while the southbound bridge open to traffic in January 2012. The new bridges include new ramps and new interchanges with I-295. The local bridge opened to traffic in May 2012. Portions of all three bridges and their approaches remain under construction as of April 2013. Phase 1 of the project was completed ahead of schedule and within budget in July 2013. The local bridge was fully complete by September 2013.
context_section_description: The first bridge across the Anacostia River in this area was the Eastern Branch Bridge, a privately owned toll and drawbridge built between 1795 and 1800 about 0.25 miles (0.40 km) upstream from 11th Street SE (at the site of the current John Philip Sousa Bridge). The Eastern Branch Bridge was blown up and partially burned by retreating American soldiers in August 1814 during the War of 1812. It was rebuilt, but burned completely in August 1846.
  In 1820, the privately owned "Upper Navy Yard Bridge" was built over the Anacostia River at 11th Street SE. Also a toll bridge, this second bridge became a "free" bridge in 1848 after it was purchased by the federal government.  From the city's founding until 1854, the area known today as Anacostia was primarily sparsely populated farmland. But Anacostia was platted in 1854, and development slowly began to turn the agricultural land into businesses and residences. The destruction of the Eastern Branch Bridge in 1846, however, significantly slowed growth in the area for five decades.
  A second bridge was built in the same location as the Navy Yard Bridge in 1872–1873. This bridge was replaced in 1905-1907 by a stronger, wider span (the "Anacostia Bridge") which accommodated streetcars. It was this span which the Bonus Army fled across on July 28, 1932, when attacked by the United States Army.
  Replacement of the 1907 span began in the 1960s. A modern, four-lane bridge carrying one-way northbound traffic opened next to the Anacostia Bridge on March 18, 1965 as part of the development of the "Inner Loop" (see below). A second four-lane bridge replaced the Anacostia Bridge in 1969, with one-way traffic over the span of each bridge.
  The southbound structure was officially named the Officer Kevin J. Welsh Memorial Bridge, while the northbound structure was officially named the 11th Street Bridge. Both were beam bridges: "[The spans] are two-girder systems with steel composite construction and a central drop-in span on pin supports. The main girders are riveted and welded, and both have reinforced wall type piers with granite facing, supported by steel H piles." Each span was about 63 feet (19 m) wide. Each bridge had roughly five sections—four sections of about 170 feet (52 m) in length, with a center section about 234 feet (71 m) in length. Both spans were considered "fracture critical," which means that if one girder in the span fails the entire bridge is likely to collapse.
caption: Photo of the 1907 built Anacostia Bridge with the under construction 11th Street Bridge next to it.
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