City Intersection Closing For Sewer Work

Roadwork at the intersection of Baltimore Avenue and Jefferson Street will begin on Sept. 7 for the installation of a 60-inch sewer main.

Work will take place overnight, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., Monday through Thursday.

Jefferson Street itself is not closed, but the intersection with Baltimore Avenue will be shut down during these times.

"In other words, you can't turn off Baltimore Avenue to Jefferson, or on Jefferson from Baltimore, but you can access Jefferson throughout the neighborhood," said city spokeswoman Abby Sandel. "The state requires us to publish a specific detour route based on certain criteria, but anyone who lives here can probably think of four other ways to avoid the intersection in the middle of the night or the wee small hours of the morning."

The project will take about six weeks, depending on weather conditions.

During the work, Baltimore Avenue will be covered with steel plates from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily. The plates should not impede the flow of traffic, Sandel said.

The new sewer main was required by the new construction at EYA's Arts District Hyattsville.

"However, it will replace an inadequate main in the street … it is an upgrade and it will reduce the chances of flooding on … Baltimore Avenue," Sandel said.