As Crystal City prepares for the arrival of the new headquarters of Amazon, transformation of one of the area’s crucial roadways continues.
Friday mid-morning, the stretch of Crystal Drive between 26th and 27th Streets will be changed from one-way northbound to two-way traffic.
In addition, the short stretch of 27th Street between Crystal Drive and Potomac Avenue will also begin two-way operations.
In the past several years, Crystal Drive — which runs parallel to Route 1 — has blossomed from what was primarily a northbound service road into a destination with new restaurants, coffee shops and new construction in anticipation of Amazon’s arrival.
Most of Crystal Drive has already been converted into two-way traffic, from 12th Street south to 26th Street. Friday’s transformation is toward the southern end of Crystal Drive, just south of the Reagan National Airport access road, the elevated road which connects Route 1 with the airport.
The affected stretch of Crystal Drive is directly behind the Hyatt Regency hotel, and the conversion of 27th Street will provide driving access from Crystal Drive to the hotel, which has previously only been reachable from Route 1.
Improvements will include a bike lane on southbound Crystal Drive, new traffic signals, upgrades to ADA-compliant crosswalk markings and ramps, and street trees.
The projects are part of Arlington County’s Crystal City Sector Plan and Crystal City Multimodal Transportation Study.
The transformation is scheduled to begin after the Friday morning rush hour. Police and construction crews on-site will monitor the switch and help direct traffic for a few hours.
