A new I-295 interchange and accompanying trail in Ward 8 is now complete and open.

The interchange on I-295 and Malcolm X Avenue has six new bridges and creates easier access for a growing area.

The three-year, $100 million project is near Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling. It creates easier access to Department of Homeland Security headquarters, Coast Guard headquarters, and the St. Elizabeth redevelopment project — all of which have opened in the past decade.

District Department of Transportation Director Everett Lott said traffic congestion had gotten worse in the area.

“As Homeland Security, the Coast Guard were coming in, we needed to make sure we can release some of that pressure,” Lott said. “Making this project a reality has really improved how cars and motorists are going to be able to travel.

“And it’s really going to be a great asset for the community because now you get a new shared-use path that people can be able to walk, bike, scoot on, which is gonna be fantastic as well.”

A 1.3-mile trail with panoramic views of Alexandria, National Airport, Rosslyn, the National Mall and monuments, the new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, and the Capitol is also now open. It connects to a larger trail network that follows the Anacostia River. Eventually, it will connect to a proposed South Capitol Street Trail. The path has 14 benches along it.

“We want people to get out of their cars have access to this shared-use path so they can walk, so they can get exercise, visit with their community members and have places to sit down and rest,” Lott said. “We absolutely believe that the residents will take full advantage of this.”

Lott said about 30 D.C. residents got on-the-job training during the construction as part of a jobs program.