WASHINGTON — The National Park Service has closed 17th Street Northwest between Constitution Avenue Northwest and Independence Avenue Southwest for an annual test.
The closure will last from 4 a.m. until about 4 p.m. to perform a test installation of the 17th Street levee. Motorists, pedestrians and cyclists should plan to use alternative routes.
The National Park Service said in a release that the annual test installation is necessary to ensure the levee closure can be erected properly in the event of high water and is also a requirement of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which constructed and regulates the levee system and closure.
Consisting of aluminum panels between steel posts, the 17th Street levee closure is part of the Potomac Park Levee System in downtown Washington, D.C. In the event of high water, the removable structure can be erected across 17th Street NW south of Constitution Avenue NW to reduce flood risk to human safety and critical infrastructure downtown and in Southwest parts of the district from flooding of the Potomac River. The 17th Street levee is operated and maintained by the National Park Service.
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