Photo By Julia LeDoux | Members of the Armed Forces Color Guard from the Military District of Washington and...... read more read more
The bridge that takes Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall community members from Washington Boulevard to Columbia Pike was renamed Freedmans Village Bridge during a Sept. 10 ceremony.
“Today, we’re not only about celebrating a bridge completed, but a community connected,” said Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne.
Representing the joint base at the ceremony were the Headquarters Command Battalion leadership team of Commander Lt. Col. Johnathon Kupka and Command Sgt. Maj. Kenyatta Mack, as well as Headquarters and Service Battalion, Headquarters Marine Corps, Henderson Hall Executive Officer Lt. Col. Ken Barstow.
“We appreciate your partnership in this project,” Layne told the JBM-HH representatives.
Henderson Hall now sits where Freedmans Village was built, said Craig Syphax, a Freedmans Village descendant and president of the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington. Freedmans Village was created by the United States government in the 1860s during the Civil War as a temporary wartime refuge for emancipated and fugitive slaves, he said. It became a thriving community with schools, a hospital and housing for residents until it closed in 1900.
“Today, we memorialize the residents of Freedmans Village who paved the way for all future generations of African Americans with a bridge dedicated in their honor,” Syphax said.
Members of the Armed Forces Color Guard from the Military District of Washington and the 1st Regiment of United States Colored Troops marched across the new bridge and presented the colors to begin the ceremony, which drew federal, state and local officials as well as community members.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe said the new structure replaces the original bridge, which was constructed in 1942 as part of the roadway system which opened up the Pentagon. He said planning for the new bridge began in 1996.
“This new bridge is a transportation asset that all Arlington residents and travelers will benefit from for years and years to come and also pays tribute to Freedmans Village,” he said.
The bridge and newly constructed interchange also provides access for bicyclists and pedestrians and accommodates the future widening of Columbia Pike, said McAuliffe.
“The Freedmans Bridge is a model for the commonwealth and I would say this, a model for the nation,” he said. “It demonstrates how partnership and cooperation can produce positive results and critical improvements.”
The bridge is a result of a partnership between the federal government, the Virginia Department of Transportation and a number of community groups, said Victor Mendez, U.S. deputy secretary of Transportation. He said the new bridge carries roughly 80,000 vehicles a day and was badly needed.
“People passing underneath the old bridge actually were concerned about concrete falling,” he said. “Today, we have a new, safer, more reliable bridge.”
Bronze medallions depicting scenes from Freedmans Village were also unveiled during the ceremony.
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.17.2015 11:06 |
| Story ID: | 176371 |
| Location: | ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 43 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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