The X2

Decking over interstate 395 begins. The project to deck over interstate 395 inside the District continues and new changes are visible daily on the large work site. The decking for what will be a platform holding new buildings and streets is starting to take shape just south of Massachusetts Ave NW between 2nd and 3rd Streets. And the construction of a new entrance portal to the soon to be underground highway has created a huge mess of traffic near the confluence of Mass Ave and H Street NW. As a new rider of the X series buses that pass through this area, I look forward to the eventual resolution of this temporary set-up. The name of the project is Capital Crossing and the builders look to complete the project by 2020.  Project website . New underground entrance to interstate 395 on Mass Ave NW. Rendering of 200 and 250 Massachusetts Ave buildings, two of five new buildings to be constructed. Via Capital Crossing .

Then: 700 block of 7th St NW; August 1980 Photo courtesy the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog . Now: 700 block of 7th St NW; March 2016

The Pod Hotel project has finally risen above ground level in Chinatown. The New York based hotel operator is bringing its signature tiny rooms to the Chinatown section of Penn Quarter at 627 H St NW. The hotel will eventually be 11 floors tall, with 245 keys. The rooms will be about 150 square feet, which doesn't seem that small to me? But, you can decide:  Have a look at a singles pod at the Pod Hotel on 39th in Manhattan. The DC hotel is scheduled to open before the end of 2016.

Cross-posted on The 42 Bus End of the line: Oklahoma Ave NE. Our trip from Union station to Oklahoma Ave took 21 minutes. My best guess: no fares until 2017. Maybe people are catching on: park inside the red lines. There are only 8 stops for now. The car barn and maintenance facility aren't quite complete just yet. 26th & Benning Rd NE. Saturday's trains were packed with curious riders, young and old. Lots of kids, because who doesn't love trains? The streetcar "turning around" (really just the operator moving form one end of the train to the other) near Benning Road bridge.