Photo by philliefan99.

The next phase of the construction of the forthcoming streetcar along H Street and Benning Road NE began today with crews laying track for the line’s western turnaround. When complete, the new segment will run from Third Street NE to the top of the Hopscotch Bridge behind Union Station.

Construction is expected to run until mid-June, the District Department of Transportation says, and will result in several parking restrictions and traffic disruptions in the neighborhood:

• I Street, currently one-way east, will be made two-way from 3rd Street to 5th Street, continuing until October.
• The 800 block of 3rd Street, between H and I Streets, will be restricted to local traffic only. Entrance to and exit from this block of 3rd Street will be at I Street only.
• The 700 block of 3rd Street, between G and H Streets, also will be restricted to local traffic only. Entrance to and exit from this block of 3rd Street will be at G Street only.
• Parking will be temporarily removed on 3rd Street between H and I Streets, except for spaces in front of the residences on the northeast portion of 3rd Street near I Street.
• No turns onto 3rd Street will be permitted from H Street.

Once up-and-running—the District still expects to have the first streetcars running by late 2013, the western turnaround will include a platform for boarding and departing passengers at Union Station and, true to its name, the rails needed to flip the cars around and send them eastbound again.

Mayor Vince Gray’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2014 increases the six-year funding plan for the streetcar program to $400 million, plus a $6.2 million operating budget once the system is online.