Record of Determination for a Temporary Closure of the northbound lanes of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway

Notice to the Public

The National Park Service will temporarily close the northbound lanes of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway within National Capital Parks – East. The closure will take place between the NASA Goddard exit and Powder Mill Road from October 24 to October 31, 2024, daily between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM.

This closure is necessary to ensure visitor safety during the removal and replacement of damaged girders and the use of heavy machinery for repairs on the NASA Access Bridge.

All northbound traffic will be detoured at the MD-193/Greenbelt Road exit. The closure will not impact the park's natural, aesthetic, or cultural values.

The National Park Service appreciates the publics cooperation in this matter.

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Record of Determination

Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.5, the National Park Service is imposing a temporary closure of the northbound lanes of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway within National Capital Parks – East. Specifically, the northbound lanes of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway will be closed between NASA Goddard Exit and Powder Mill Road on October 24, 2024, and October 31, 2024, beginning at 9:00 pm and lasting until 5:00 am for girder replacement as part of the repair and rehabilitation of the NASA Access Bridge. This temporary closure is necessary for the protection of visitors as contractors will be removing and replacing the damaged girders. It is also necessary to protect visitors while machinery is used to make repairs to the NASA Access Bridge. Because the bridge spans the BaltimoreWashington Parkway less restrictive measures will not suffice. This temporary closure is not of a nature, magnitude and duration that will result in a “significant alteration in the public use pattern.” Northbound traffic will be detoured at the MD193/Greenbelt Road exit during the overnight closure. The closure will not adversely affect the park's natural, aesthetic, or cultural values; nor require significant modification to the resource management objections; nor is it of a highly controversial nature, given that it is only imposed for a limited time and to protect the safety of park visitors while upgrading park facilities for visitors’ benefit. Accordingly, the National Park Service determines that publication as rulemaking in the Federal Register, is unwarranted per 36 C.F.R. § l.5(b). This is consistent with hundreds of earlier partial Anacostia Park and Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens/Kenilworth Park, Baltimore-Washington Parkway, Capitol Hill Parks, Carter G Woodson Home National Historic Site Civil War Defenses of Washington, Fort Washington Park, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, Greenbelt Park, Harmony Hall, Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm, Piscataway Park, and Suitland Parkway United States Department of the Interior National Capital Parks-East NATIONAL PARK SERVICE National Capital Region 1900 Anacostia Drive, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20020 April 3, 2024 IN REPLY REFER TO: 10.B (NCR-NACE) United States Department of the Interior NATIONAL PARK SERVICE National Capital Parks-East National Capital Region 1900 Anacostia Drive, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20020 October 23, 2024 2 and temporary park closures, the legal opinion of the Office of the Solicitor, and judicial adjudications. Picciotto v. United States, No. 99-2113 (D.D.C.); Picciotto v. United States, No. 94-1935 (D.D.C.); Picciotto v. Lujan, No. 90-1261 (D.D.C.); Picciotto v. Hodel, No. 87-3290 (D.D.C.); Spiegel v. Babbitt, 855 F.Supp. 402 (D.D.C. 1994), aff’d in part w/o op. 56 F.3d 1531 (D.C. Cir. 1995). Pursuant to 36 C.F.R.§ 1.7, notice of this temporary closure will be made through media notifications and the posting of an advisory on the park website. Finally, pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.5(c), this determination is available to the public upon request.

Tara D. Morrison
Superintendent
October 23, 2024