It would have crossed Northwest Branch Park in a cut-and-cover tunnel, and the burrowed crossing of New Hampshire Avenue in Maryland next to the southern end of the Pepco route linking the Northeast Freeway with the North Central Freeway was replaced with an elevated, sharply curved crossing with a 55 mph design speed (the remainder of the route would be 70 mph), necessitated by the challenging topography of the area and the need to avoid rebuilding the Pepco substation.