County to Demolish S. Clark Street Bridge, Causing Crystal City Detours

The S. Clark Street bridge over 18th Street S. in Crystal City is set to be torn down this month, prompting some detours.

Knocking down the bridge is “tentatively set for late May,” the county wrote in a press release, noting that the exact date could be three to four weeks from today.

The county is warning drivers the demolition will cause detours, namely:

This work will require a series of alternating eastbound and westbound closures on 18th Street between South Eads and South Bell Streets. The detours are expected to last for 2-3 weeks.

Drivers will be encouraged to use 15th and 20th Streets South as alternate routes. Additional details for the detours will be shared soon, as plans for the bridge removal are finalized.

The demolition is part of a $6 million project to tear down the elevated section of S. Clark Street and build a “new open space” with streetscaping that’s friendlier to development. It’s happening in an area next to the Crystal City Metro station that’s likely to increasingly become a hotspot with Amazon’s arrival.

“To make way for new building sites and an improved surface street network, the Crystal City Sector Plan and accompanying Multimodal Transportation Study called for its demolition,” wrote the Crystal City Business Improvement District on its website.

Demolition started last summer and as of the beginning of 2019 crews had already demolished the S. Clark Street overpass over 15th Street S.

Officials have said they hope to complete the project by this summer.