By 2026, the D.C. Streetcar could extend out to the Benning Road Metro stop, part of a new construction and rehabilitation project. Once complete, it would add five new Streetcar stops, improve intersections, and upgrade bridges, among a slew of other roadway safety improvements.

The extension comes as a part of a broader project to expand transportation and access to amenities in Wards 7 and 5.

The Streetcar, a service some advocates see as a  access and equity improvement, has plenty of detractors. Some Ward 7 residents believed it would actually make roadways more congested near Benning Road, while other residents believed that funding for the Streetcar could be better spent elsewhere. 

District Department of Transportation officials presented final designs for the expansion project in a public meeting Tuesday night. DDOT’s proposed timeline predicts final design approval by this spring, construction starting in spring 2023, and completion by 2026.

The roughly two-mile expansion would add stops at Kingman Island, Benning Road and 34th Street NE, Benning Road and 39th Street NE, Benning Road 42nd Street NE, and then a final stop at the Benning Road Metro station. The new stops will either have a shared or split platform in the center of the road, made accessible by a lighted crosswalk. A “transit plaza” will connect the Streetcar platform and the Benning Road Metro entrance, in order to avoid pedestrian crossing of Benning Road or East Capitol Street NE.

Beyond the Streetcar expansion, the project, more broadly known as the Benning Road Bridges and Transportation Improvements Project, is rehabilitating two bridges along Benning Road and replacing a third — adding safety measures like guarded sidewalks and shared-use paths. Several intersections along Benning Road are slated to be improved for better pedestrian and bicyclist safety, and DDOT is planning to modify the Benning Road and DC-295 interchange.

DDOT is holding another community engagement meeting on the final design proposal for the roughly $180 million transportation project on Wednesday evening.