Washington, D.C. could soon get its own answer to New York City’s iconic High Line — but instead of transforming an abandoned railway, this project will turn old bridge infrastructure over the Anacostia River into an elevated public park.
The long-awaited 11th Street Bridge Park has spent years in development, becoming one of the city’s most ambitious urban design projects focused on both recreation and neighborhood connectivity.
Like NYC’s High Line, the park is designed as a destination in itself, blending green space, public art, walking paths, and panoramic city views into one elevated experience.
After years of planning delays and funding hurdles, the project now appears closer than ever to finally breaking ground.
What is the 11th Street Bridge Park? How long has it been in planning?
The 11th Street Bridge Park is a planned elevated park that will be built on the piers of the old 11th Street Bridge spanning the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington, D.C.
The project, which has been pushed along by the local non-profit Building Bridges Across the River, is designed to physically connect neighborhoods like Navy Yard and Historic Anacostia, while also symbolically bridging longstanding economic and social divides across the river.
Unlike a traditional park, the space will sit above the river and feature amenities, including:
- Outdoor performance spaces and amphitheater
- Play areas for families and children
- Environmental education center
- Urban agriculture spaces
- Gardens, lawns, overlooks, and hammock groves
- Walking and gathering areas with skyline views
The concept was first introduced more than a decade ago, with formal planning efforts initially beginning in 2013.
Officials selected a design from internationally recognized architecture firm OMA and landscape architecture firm OLIN, giving the project a globally recognizable design pedigree similar to NYC’s High Line.
The High Line comparison has followed the project for years, as both spaces reimagine aging infrastructure as an elevated public green space.
However, unlike the High Line, which primarily serves Manhattan’s West Side, the 11th Street Bridge Park has heavily emphasized equitable development and anti-displacement efforts, including affordable housing, workforce training, and small business support for nearby communities.
When is construction set to start, and when will it be completed?
Momentum for the project accelerated significantly after the park secured its full $92 million construction funding goal in late 2024, thanks in part to a $15 million federal grant.
Project leaders have said the funding milestone officially clears one of the largest hurdles that had delayed construction for years.
According to the latest public timeline, officials are targeting a 2026 groundbreaking, with earlier updates noting contractor solicitation and pre-construction work already underway, signaling construction should start this summer.
If the current timeline holds, the 11th Street Bridge Park is expected to open in the latter half of 2028, finally delivering one of Washington’s most talked-about urban projects after more than a decade of anticipation.
For D.C. residents, that means the city may soon get a landmark public attraction that could become as instantly recognizable as the High Line is in New York.
