“ddot has finally repaved the mangled and unmarked asphalt humps at the bottom of the 13th street hill”

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by Prince Of Petworth July 14, 2016 at 1:45 pm 13 Comments

paved
photo of 11th and Florida but how could I not use it, the guy is hauling a keg for the love of God!!!

“Dear PoPville,

noticed on my bike commute this morning that ddot has finally repaved the mangled and unmarked asphalt humps at the bottom of the 13th street hill, just north of florida avenue, that were wreaking such havoc on unwary bikers over the last several years (e.g., causing accidents like this one). so, progress, i guess.”

bumpy biker

It really annoys me how the streets in DC are covered in these mounds. They are very dangerous for bikers. DC is the only city I know where there are mounds of asphalt lurking in the street. They frequently are found in the middle of bike lanes, requiring you to swerve into traffic to dodge them.

Does anyone know why these appear in the first place? Presumably anyone pouring asphalt would also be able to properly grade it.

Does anyone know if there is a mechanism to report these and get them fixed? What’s wrong with DDOT?
- Effie
  
  Because they are irresponsible with the asphalt, I have literally seen residue of it sprayed on nearby vehicles because it is so poorly done. The city/DDOT needs to address this asap.
Effie

I’m slowly seeing progress – though I’m irritated with their lack of urgency, it’s better than no progress I guess? They finally reached the entire left hand side of 17th St NE, however the entire right hand side is still so completely hazardous to drive, bike, or even walk over (I literally found a huge hole that was probably 5 feet in length that was only partially covered with a small metal sheet on 17th ST NE, I hope that no one goes near it, it looks pretty bad)
Anonymous

I didn’t think this would ever get fixed. It was so dangerous. I almost lost control of my car several times. Why does it take DDOT so long?
Mojotron

Anyone know how the cyclist from that crash in May is doing?

(would also like to find out if the lady who was in critical condition from the accident in late June is OK, if anyone knows)
KenyonDweller

If it’s the hump I’m thinking of, it was there for at least 10 years. I remember swerving around it on my bike in the mid 2000s.
MRD

Definitely 10+ years.
David

After the recent accident, ANC1B stepped in to pressure DDOT (with an assist from Councilwoman Nadeau’s office) to fix the road immediately. We are glad they finally realized the danger and addressed it.
David Gilliland, Commissioner 1B06
- 2b3s
  
  In what universe does it take such concerted efforts to convince a municipality to properly maintain its own roads?
d

Thankfully it’s not on a hill, but the new asphalt mound at 20th and Wyoming is hilariously large. It’s like DDOT or their contractors truly dgaf because they really don’t. Wouldn’t be shocked if it’s still there 10 years from now.
Jonathan

The issue is that DC doesn’t compete its yearly paving contract to anyone. For nearly 20 years, Ft Myer Construction has gotten nearly 50% of DC’s paving dollars at a rate that exceeds paving companies in Montgomery County or Fairfax by more than 25%. They have long been a very connected CBE, and to the fury of a dozen other local paving companies in MD and VA who would love to compete for the work, Ft Myer gets it all.

They use a cheap, substandard mix which is why newly paved DC streets start to crumble within 6 months of repaving, and they do a half-assed job, leaving uneven finishes, uncoordinated joints etc. Basically it is what happens when you sole source something to a company and they don’t have to compete for the work. DC Water sole sources a lot of their water line replacement work to them as well.
- saf
  
  They are sleazy, and have been debarred at least once. Needs to happen again.
ah

Sorry, gotta weigh in for that awesome cyclist towing a keg.

Definitely surpasses the guys I saw riding a tandem bike each holding a 24 pack of PBR up near AU a couple years ago.

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