(Photo by Lauren Parnell Marino)

Beach Drive is going to look like a whole new road in three years time—because it actually will be.

It has been 25 years since the last time since the major thoroughfare through Rock Creek Park was overhauled, and the National Park Service is spending tens of thousands of dollars a year to patch repairs and potholes. So, starting just after Labor Day, the National Park Service is beginning an extensive project to rehabilitate the road.

The work will include reconstructing the entirety of the pavement, improving bike and walking paths, rehabbing six bridges, replacing traffic signals and streetlights, and installing raised pavement markers, center rumble strips, new guardrails, and road signs.

The work will be broken down into four segments, during which that portion of the road will be closed entirely to drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. More than 40,000 people use Beach Drive on the weekends, and commuters take 12 million trips through Rock Creek each year, according to NPS.

Information about the closures and public meetings about the work will be updated here.

Update 7/27: Meetings are planned for Thursday, July 28 at the Cleveland Park Library from 7-8 p.m.; Tuesday, August 9 at Montgomery College from 6:30-7:30 p.m.; and Thursday, August 18 at the Petworth Library from 6:30-7:30 p.m.