The Duke Street concourse is finally opening … six months late.
The tunnel will allow pedestrians, including employees at the U. S. Patent and Trademark offices to cross under Duke Street to the King Street Metro station. The tunnel was originally scheduled for completion by January 1, of this year, when the first PTO buildings were scheduled for occupancy.
The city will hold a “soft” opening on Thursday, July 1, and the formal dedication ceremony will be held on Saturday, July 17, at 9 a.m.
Beginning on July 1, the concourse will be open week days from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“These hours were coordinated with the people at PTO who believe that this will accommodate their staff’s working hours,” Emily Baker told Council at the last meeting. “If we need to look at increasing the hours that the tunnel will be open, we can do that.”
THE TUNNEL is 170 feet long, 20 feet wide and 12 feet high. It has a brick floor. Later this year, the walls will have six maps of Alexandria and six paintings by local artist Ashley Spencer depicting historic scenes of the Carlyle neighborhood. The tunnel will be well lighted and fully accessible to persons with disabilities.