Transportation Studies and Customized Solutions Achieve Project Approvals

The George Washington University (GW) Foggy Bottom Campus includes approximately 44 acres of land in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, DC. W+A’s Washington, DC traffic engineers and transportation planners have worked with the District of Columbia educational institution on many projects since 2006, beginning with the Foggy Bottom Campus Plan.

GW’s 2006-2025 Foggy Bottom Campus Plan envisioned two million square feet of new high-tech classrooms, labs, offices, residential space, support space, and other modernized facilities through 18 potential redevelopment sites, including demolition of the 1,482-space university parking garage.

Wells + Associates traffic engineering team conducted a multi-modal transportation study that evaluated existing and proposed traffic and parking conditions; documented existing public transportation facilities, pedestrian facilities, bicycle facilities, and loading facilities; and documented the effectiveness of the existing transportation management plan.

In 2007, the Zoning Commission of the District of Columbia approved the Foggy Bottom Campus Plan that W+A developed for the university. Since then, we’ve worked with the University to implement the plan to:

• redevelop Square 54 – the former GW hospital site
• build GW’s new Science and Engineering Hall – the former University Parking Garage site
• build the new School of Public Health and Health Services
• build the GW Museum
• redevelop Square 75,  allowing for construction of a new office building
• redevelop Square 77, allowing for construction of a new residence hall

For each of these projects, W+A’s consultants prepared comprehensive transportation studies that evaluated the individual impacts of the redevelopment sites, and provided expert testimony at the Zoning Commission hearings. Each project was unique and offered a distinct set of transportation challenges that our skilled team successfully tackled. W+A worked with the University, project architects, and District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to develop recommendations for each project. From loading management plans, to Transportation Demand Management plans, to operational improvements, W+A developed customized solutions that ultimately led to project approvals.