Benning Road Paving on Friday

Drivers on Benning Road have endured rough rides during lengthy construction. (Thomson)

I was going to make the headline, "Avoid Benning Road tomorrow," but decided drivers who have any experience with Benning would think of that as a permanent condition. There are variable message boards along 295 that basically tell them that already.

But for those still stuck on that road, there's this: The District Department of Transportation is scheduled to pave the curb lane on the eastbound side of Benning between 18th and 21st streets on Friday.

Eastbound traffic will be restricted to one lane from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The work is scheduled to be completed in a single day, weather permitting -- though the weather has not been permitting much lately.

Metrobus riders can still use the stops at 19th and 21st streets. Flaggers will be at the bus stops to assist passengers.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and DDOT Director Gabe Klein announced this spring that fixing Benning -- which seems to have been torn up for most of the decade -- would be a top transportation priority. So crews are working double shifts to finish the paving of two lanes between 16th Street and Oklahoma Avenue by mid-August.