Start at the little triangle where Connecticut Avenue meets California Street and walk downhill toward Dupont Circle. For the first several blocks the sidewalk is new, with fresh pavers, brick accents and planting beds waiting for this fall's landscaping. Somewhere around R Street, the new sidewalk ends. From there to the Circle you're walking through orange barrels, a protected pedestrian lane and a freshly poured concrete deck with a 50-foot hole in it.
That order was planned. The District Department of Transportation began the Connecticut Avenue Streetscape and Deckover on June 23, 2025, and started at the north end of the corridor, working block by block down the southbound side before coming back up the northbound side. The result for Kalorama is a reversal of the usual walk. The residential end is finished and already shows what the whole street will look like. The shopping end, where everyone is headed for the holidays, is where everything still being decided sits.
Built From the Top of the Hill Down
DDOT's August 19 update said streetscape work on the southbound side was nearly complete from California Street to Q Street, with crews finishing at Florida Avenue and then at the triangle at 20th Street, Connecticut Avenue and Q Street. Then the work crossed the street. Here is the corridor as DDOT's weekly log described it on October 21, 2026:
| Stretch | Status as of the Oct. 21, 2026 DDOT update |
|---|---|
| West side, California St. to Q St. | Streetscape essentially complete; landscaping set for this fall and spring 2027 |
| 1700 block, west side | Pavers, cobblestones, bus pads and bike lane work done in spring and early summer |
| 1600 block, east side | Crews moving north toward R Street, with new traffic signals and sidewalk work at the intersection |
| 1500 block, west side | Service road and sidewalk work underway beside the new deck |
| Deckover, Dupont Circle to Q St. | All five concrete pours complete; pavers and plaza finishes still to come |
The October 14 update said crews would stay in the current phase for another four to five weeks. On that schedule, the barrier line on the east side should still be up around R Street through mid-November, right when holiday errands pick up.
The 1700 Block Is the Preview
To see what the Dupont end will look like next summer, walk the 1700 block on the west side. It was the first block to get the full sidewalk treatment. Crews laid new sidewalk pavers, brick accents and landscaping structures there in early April. By April 30, the pavers and cobblestones were complete. In May, new bus pads went in on the northwest side of the block at R Street, and by June the roadway work there had moved on to the bike lane.
The block's bare spots are on DDOT's schedule. In April, DDOT said landscaping, streetlights and benches would arrive in the coming months. Its August and September updates pushed the planting to "later in the Fall" and spring 2027, to line up with planting season. The empty beds along the finished blocks are waiting for trees, not left behind.
The new sidewalk has already brought one thing back. In early June, once pavers were down on the R Street corner, Sette Osteria put its sidewalk tables and chairs out again. The finished street is set up for that kind of outdoor seating, and the east-side storefronts below R Street get the same sidewalk once their phase is done.
Where the New Sidewalk Ends
Below R Street, the 1600 block's east side is in the middle of the work. On that side of the avenue, foot traffic has been moved into a protected walkway in the street, with ramps up to the shop doors. DDOT says every business stays open throughout construction. Signs on the detour route are posted at eye level, and DDOT's October 7 update asked people to look up from their phones and use them.
Farther south, the deck itself crossed its biggest milestone this month. DDOT first scheduled the pour for the night of September 17, with the underpass closed from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., and its September 26 update reported that the first pour had gone smoothly the Friday before. More than 20 concrete trucks moved in and out during the first and second overnight pours. DDOT announced on October 14 that the fifth and final pour was done. That update also explained the large round opening in the deck that passersby had been asking about. It is a 50-foot-diameter tunnel ventilation vent, a permanent part of the design, with a concrete barrier and a mounted rail around it. Whatever the plaza becomes, it will be laid out around that opening.
Kramers Turns 50 Beside the Work Zone
The landmark on the deck's edge is Kramers, which DDOT's own October 21 update called "a true staple in the Dupont Circle community" as it marked 50 years in the 1500 block. WTOP reported that the business opened as Kramerbooks on July 4, 1976, as the District's first bookshop with a restaurant. At the anniversary celebration, Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a proclamation declaring October 22 "Kramer's Day."
Owner Steve Salis told WTOP the business has lasted "by staying true to the origins by which the brand and the business were conceived on," and that it now employs a staff of 150. Its 50th year means a front door that faces a construction site, and that will soon face a public plaza.
A Holiday Market One Block East of the Deck
Holiday shopping on this stretch gets a second stop this year. The DC Holiday Market returns to the 1500 block of New Hampshire Avenue NW, on the closed section between Q Street and the Circle, one block from the Dupont Circle Metro. Diverse Markets Management produces it, with support from the Dupont Circle BID.
- Dates: Thursday, November 12, through Wednesday, December 23, 2026
- Hours: noon to 8 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
- Closed: Thanksgiving Day, November 26, and Monday, November 30, for exhibitor turnover
- Vendors: more than 35 small businesses selling artisan goods, boutique brands and handcrafted gifts
The market's own materials list Kramers Books & Café, Rokuya, The Pembroke and the Dupont Circle Hotel as neighbors just steps away. From Kalorama, the quickest route probably runs down the finished west side of Connecticut and then across at the Circle. That avoids most of the east-side work zone and puts the market, Kramers and the deck within a few hundred feet of each other. DDOT made the same pitch in its October 7 update, pointing out that shopping at businesses surrounded by construction is one way to start a holiday list.
What the Plaza Still Has to Settle
The plaza is the reason for the whole project, and it's the least settled part. DDOT's project overview describes a multi-use public space between Dupont Circle and Q Street, with traffic still running underneath and a pedestrian-only crossing linking the east and west sides of Connecticut. The agency lists everyday uses like lunch, reading and playing with kids, plus events such as farmers markets, outdoor movies, music, plays and cultural programs.
The finer details are still open. In an August 3 briefing, Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto wrote that the plaza "could be completed as soon as this January," possibly opening before the rest of the streetscape, and that ribbon-cutting dates would come later. She also wrote that her team would keep working with ANC 2B and the community "to ensure the plaza has needed shade and greenery." When work began in 2025, DDOT told The Wash that the plaza would stay public space, with the Dupont Circle BID helping with programming and upkeep.
ANC 2B is where these questions go. DDOT said it would brief the commission on progress at its monthly meeting, and called the ANC's involvement "integral" to keeping the work on schedule. The project team also takes questions at [email protected].
Both Ends of the Walk Finish in Summer 2027
DDOT says the full project is on schedule for early summer 2027, subject to weather. The top of the walk has its own construction deadline at about the same time. In the 1800 block, Post Brothers is turning the Universal Buildings at 1825 and 1875 Connecticut Avenue into The Geneva, designed by Handel Architects. The District's January 22 groundbreaking announcement calls it the city's largest-ever office-to-residential conversion: a 604,000-square-foot, 15-story project with 532 homes, 60 of them permanently affordable. UrbanTurf's project listing, last updated October 1, 2026, puts first move-ins in summer 2027. DDOT says the two project teams meet regularly to limit the combined effect on traffic in the 1800 block. Some of the detour signs there belong to The Geneva's work, not the streetscape's.
If both schedules hold, next summer the Kalorama end of Connecticut Avenue will get trees in the beds that are empty now, hundreds of new neighbors in the 1800 block, and a finished plaza at the bottom of the hill.
At Crossman & Co, we keep a close eye on corridor projects like this one because they shape how a block feels long before they show up in anyone's listing photos. If you'd like to talk through what the Connecticut Avenue rebuild means for your corner of Kalorama, schedule your free consultation and we'll walk it with you.
