Union Station’s front yard gets spiffy

Union Station finishes the Columbus Plaza project, which improves access for pedestrians and vehicular traffic traversing the plaza en route to Union Station. Before the project finished, cars had to navigate through the plaza’s configuration and pedestrians had to walk around construction to the front of Union Station. The federally funded project was implemented through a partnership that includes the District Department of Transportation, Amtrak, the Architect of the Capitol, the National Park Service, the Federal Transit Administration, the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The 18-month construction phase commenced in September 2011 and the total project cost was approximately $10.8 million. A redesigned traffic circle now allows vehicles to loop around the plaza to enter and exit Union Station, with larger sidewalks and an enhanced traffic-signal system.