View source for K Street Bridge

[[File:AERIAL VIEW OF WHITEHURST FREEWAY AND K STREET OVERPASS, LOOKING WEST - Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, Washington, District of Columbia, DC HABS DC,WASH,686-5.tif|thumb|The K Street Bridge in 1993.  The near parts of the circular ramps were intended to connect to the unbuilt North Leg of the [[Inner Loop (Washington, D.C.)|Inner Loop Expressway]] and have since been demolished.]]
[[File:K Street Bridge detail 2015.jpg|thumb|The span crossing Rock Creek in 2015.  The three portions of the bridge built at different times are clearly distinguishable.]]

The '''K Street Bridge''' is a complex of bridges over [[Rock Creek (Potomac River)|Rock Creek]] and the [[Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway]] in Washington, D.C.  The lower level of the bridge carries the [[surface street]] [[K Street (Washington, D.C.)|K Street]], while the upper level carries the [[Whitehurst Freeway]] ([[U.S. Route 29 in the District of Columbia|U.S. Route 29]]) which terminates and merges into K Street immediately east of the bridge.  The central bridge is flanked by two [[flyover ramp]]s that connect to the nearby terminus of [[Interstate 66#District of Columbia|Interstate 66]].<ref name="HAER">Ross, Amy (1992).  {{HAER |survey=DC-20 |id=dc0757|title=K Street Bridge}} [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0700/dc0757/data/dc0757data.pdf History and Description]</ref><ref>{{HABS |survey=DC-697 |id=dc0806 |title=Rock Creek & Potomac Parkway}} ([[:File:Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, Washington, District of Columbia, DC HABS DC,WASH,686 (sheet 10 of 36).tif|Drawing 10]])</ref>

The first bridge on the site was a stone arch bridge constructed in 1792; it was only the second crossing of Rock Creek built, the first being at M Street.  This bridge was found to be unstable and its center arch was demolished in 1795.  In 1869, a wood bridge was constructed, and in 1907 it was replaced by a steel-plate girder bridge.<ref name="HAER"/>

The completion of the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway in 1936 increased traffic on the K Street Bridge, necessitating its replacement.  The lower level of the current bridge was constructed between 1939 and 1941, and the upper level, connecting to the Whitehurst Freeway, was constructed from 1947 to 1949.  The designers of the current K Street Bridge also designed the [[Charles C. Glover Memorial Bridge]] farther up the river.  The bridge is built of concrete, faced with [[gneiss]].<ref name="HAER"/>  The flanking ramps were constructed in the early 1960s.  They initially contained unused branches intended to connect to the unbuilt North Leg of the [[Inner Loop (Washington, D.C.)|Inner Loop Expressway]].  These ramps were demolished in the mid-1990s.<ref name="HAER-Parkway">Davis, Timothy (1992).  {{HAER |survey = DC-697|id = dc0806|title = Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway}} [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0800/dc0806/data/dc0806data.pdf History and Description], pp. 13, 109, 125</ref>

The bulk of the K Street Bridge, with its many ramps, was considered to be more of a visual barrier than the other bridges across Rock Creek.<ref name="HAER" /> This was a result of transportation efficiency taking precedence over aesthetic concerns in this case, perhaps because at the time of its construction the surrounding neighborhoods were industrial or poor residential areas.<ref name="HAER-Parkway" />

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:HISTORIC VIEW LOOKING FROM PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE BRIDGE SOUTH TO OLD (1907 STEEL-GIRDER) K STREET BRIDGE. MLK LIBRARY. - K Street Bridge, Spanning Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, HAER DC,WASH,603-5 cropped.tif|The 1907 bridge
File:HISTORIC VIEW OF K STREET BRIDGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION, APRIL 17, 1941. MLK LIBRARY (Negative No. 2622). - K Street Bridge, Spanning Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, Washington, HAER DC,WASH,603-4 cropped.tif|The original portion of the current bridge in 1941
</gallery>

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Transport}}
* {{Portal-inline|Engineering}}
* {{Portal-inline|United States}}

==References==
{{Commons category|K Street Bridge}}
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Crossings navbox
|structure       = [[List of crossings of Rock Creek|Crossings]]
|place           = [[Rock Creek (Potomac River)|Rock Creek]] Valley
|bridge          = K Street Bridge
|bridge signs    = [[File:US 29.svg|20px]]
|upstream        = [[L Street Bridge]]
|upstream signs  = 
|downstream      = [[Thompson Boat Center Footbridge]]
|downstream signs = 
}}
{{Georgetown, Washington, D.C.}}

{{coord|38.902531|-77.057725|type:landmark_region:US-DC|display=title}}

[[Category:Bridges over Rock Creek (Potomac River tributary)]]
[[Category:Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:U.S. Route 29]]
[[Category:Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System]]