Connecticut Avenue Line

D70
Connecticut Avenue Line
Former Route L2 at Cleveland Park station
Overview
System	Metrobus
Operator	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Garage	Western
Status	Active
Predecessors	L1, L2, L4
Route
Locale	Northwest
Communities served	Downtown, Dupont Circle, Kalorama Heights, Woodley Park, Cleveland Park, Forest Hills, Wakefield, Chevy Chase
Landmarks served	Farragut Square, Farragut West station, Farragut North station, Woodley Park station, National Zoo, Cleveland Park station, UDC, Van Ness-UDC station, Chevy Chase Circle
Start	Farragut Square
Via	Connecticut Avenue NW
End	Chevy Chase Circle
Service
Level	Daily
Frequency	12-20 minutes
Journey time	30-35 minutes
Operates	5:00 AM - 2:00 AM
Ridership	1,369,486 (FY 2024) [1]
Transfers	SmarTrip only
Route map v t e Connecticut Avenue Line Bethesda  L2  L2 intermittent stops Elm Street Leeland Street–Miller Avenue Stanford Street Bradley Boulevard–Nottingham Drive Norwood Drive Chevy Chase Boulevard Langdrum Lane Drummond Avenue Grafton Street Somerset Terrace South Park Avenue Friendship Heights DC–MD line L2 intermittent stops Livingston Street Cedar Parkway–McKinley Street Oliver Street L2 night service Chevy Chase Circle  L1  L2  McKinley Street Livingston Street Legation Street Military Road Jocelyn Street Huntington Street Nebraska Avenue Ellicot–Everett Streets Cumberland–Davenport Streets Chesapeake Street Brandywine Street Albemarle Street Yuma Street Veazey Terrace – Van Ness Van Ness Street Tilden Street Sedgwick Street Rodman Street Porter Street Ordway Street – Cleveland Park Macomb Street Devonshire Place National Zoo Cathedral Avenue Woodley Road L2 via Columbia Road & Calvert Street 24th Street – Woodley Park Calvert Street L1 intermittent stops Belmont Road Kalorama Road Wyoming Avenue California Street Biltmore Street Lanier Place 18th Street–Adams Mill Road Mintwood Place 19th Street Columbia Road / California Street L2 via Columbia Road & Calvert Street Florida Avenue–Leroy Place S Street Phelps Place R Street Florida Avenue Q Street – Dupont Circle L2 via Dupont Circle underpass 18th–N Streets M Street L Street – Farragut North Farragut West (17th–I Streets) L2  L1 intermittent stops Massachusetts Avenue P Street New Hampshire Avenue N Street M Street 22nd Street L Street I Street – Foggy Bottom G Street E Street–Virginia Avenue C Street 22nd Street 21st Street 20th Street 19th Street 18th & D Streets Potomac Park(18th & E Streets) L1  17th & C Streets Legend Major stops Minor stops  L2  Terminal  L2  Late-night terminal Metro connection The entire line is in Northwest D.C. ← D6X  {{{system_nav}}}  D72 →

The Connecticut Avenue Line, designated Route D70, is a daily bus route in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States. It operates between Chevy Chase Circle and Farragut Square via Connecticut Avenue NW, connecting multiple communities in Northwest. The line operates every 20 minutes daily, taking 30-35 minutes to complete.

Route description

The D70 begins at Chevy Chase Circle, just south of Western Avenue and the Maryland state line. It continues down Connecticut Avenue NW continuing south until it reaches Farragut Square. The D70 also passes underneath Dupont Circle via the Connecticut Avenue underpass, and turn onto the intersection with Florida Avenue and S Street.

Route D70 operates out of Western division.

Former Services

The former L1 began ^{[Note 1]} at the Potomac Park apartments at 18th and C Streets. It runs along Constitution Avenue via 18th and 20th Streets, and turned right on 23rd Street. The route proceeds through Foggy Bottom and the campus of the George Washington University until Washington Circle, where it switched to New Hampshire Avenue for just a few blocks. The route turned north onto 20th Street to avoid Dupont Circle, and eventually reached Connecticut Avenue by way of Massachusetts Avenue and Florida Avenue. The L2 started at Farragut Square, one block north ^{[Note 2]} of the southern terminus of Connecticut Avenue, then proceed north along the avenue. It passed underneath Dupont Circle via the Connecticut Avenue underpass, and turned onto the intersection with Florida Avenue and S Street.

The route continued north along the avenue. The L2 took a brief detour into Adams Morgan via Columbia Road, Calvert Street, and the Duke Ellington Bridge. Following Connecticut Avenue northbound, the route serve multiple stations of the Red Line, namely the Woodley Park, Cleveland Park, and Van Ness, until the Red Line diverts from Connecticut Avenue. The route also pass through the Woodley Park and Cleveland Park neighborhoods, of which the former also includes the National Zoological Park. In the Forest Hills neighborhood, the route also provide access to the Van Ness Campus of the University of the District of Columbia, the district's only public university.

Route L2 terminated at Chevy Chase Circle, just south of Western Avenue and the Maryland state line. Route L2 provided transfers to the L8, also known as the Connecticut Avenue–Maryland Line. Essentially L2's continuation into Maryland, the former L8 begins at the nearby Friendship Heights station and serves Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase, Kensington, and Aspen Hill.

The former L2 routing also incorporated Route L4, which operated with the L1 and L2 until 2012. ^{[2] [3]}

Former L2 stops

Bus stop	Direction	Connections
Washington, D.C.
17th Street NW / I Street NW Farragut Square	Northbound stop, Southbound terminal	Metrobus : 3Y, 11Y, 16Y, 32, 33, 36, 38B, 42, 43, 80, D6, G8, N2, N4, N6, X2 DC Circulator   Georgetown – Union Station MTA Maryland Bus : 901, 902, 904, 905, 909, 950, 995 Loudoun County Transit PRTC OmniRide Washington Metro : (at Farragut West station) (at Farragut North station)
Connecticut Avenue NW / L Street NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: 42, 43, N2, N4, N6
Connecticut Avenue NW / M Street NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: 42, 43, N2, N4, N6
Connecticut Avenue NW / N Street NW	Southbound	Metrobus: 42, 43, N2, N4, N6
Connecticut Avenue NW / 18th Street NW	Northbound	Metrobus: 42, 43, N2, N4, N6
Connecticut Avenue NW / R Street NW	Southbound	Metrobus: 42, 43
Connecticut Avenue NW / S Street NW	Northbound	Metrobus: 42, 43
Connecticut Avenue NW / Florida Avenue NW	Northbound	Metrobus: 42, 43
Connecticut Avenue NW / Leroy Place NW	Southbound	Metrobus: 42, 43
Columbia Road NW / California Street NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: 42, 43
Columbia Road NW / 19th Street NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: 42, 43
Columbia Road NW / Mintwood Place NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: 42, 43
Columbia Road NW / Biltmore Street NW	Southbound	Metrobus: 42, 43, 90, 92 (Late night & early morning only), 96
Adams Mill Road NW / Columbia Road NW	Northbound	Metrobus: 42, 43, 90, 92 (Late night & early morning only), 96 DC Circulator   Woodley Park–Adams Morgan–McPherson Square Metro
Calvert Street NW / Lanier Place NW	Southbound	Metrobus: 90, 92 (Late night & early morning only), 96 DC Circulator   Woodley Park – Adams Morgan – McPherson Square Metro
Calvert Street NW / Biltmore Street NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: 90, 92 (Late night & early morning only), 96
Rock Creek / Duke Ellington Bridge
Calvert Street NW / Connecticut Avenue NW	Southbound	Metrobus: 96
Connecticut Avenue NW / Calvert Street NW	Northbound	Metrobus: 96
24th Street NW / Connecticut Avenue NW Woodley Park station	Southbound	Metrobus: 96 DC Circulator   Woodley Park – Adams Morgan – McPherson Square Metro Washington Metro :
Connecticut Avenue NW / Woodley Road NW Woodley Park station	Bidirectional	Metrobus: 96 DC Circulator   Woodley Park – Adams Morgan – McPherson Square Metro Washington Metro :
Connecticut Avenue NW / Cathedral Avenue NW	Bidirectional
Connecticut Avenue NW / Smithsonian's National Zoo	Bidirectional
Connecticut Avenue NW / Devonshire Place NW	Bidirectional
Connecticut Avenue NW / Macomb Street NW	Bidirectional
Connecticut Avenue NW / Ordway Street NW Cleveland Park station	Bidirectional	Washington Metro :
Connecticut Avenue NW / Porter Street NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: D32, H2, H4, W47
Connecticut Avenue NW / Rodman Street NW	Southbound
Connecticut Avenue NW / Sedgwick Street NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: D32, H2
Connecticut Avenue NW / Tilden Street NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: D32, H2
Connecticut Avenue NW / Van Ness Street NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: D32, H2
Connecticut Avenue NW / Veazey Terrace NW Van Ness–UDC station	Bidirectional	Metrobus: W45, W47 Washington Metro :
Connecticut Avenue NW / Yuma Street NW	Southbound
Connecticut Avenue NW / Albemarle Street NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: D32
Connecticut Avenue NW / Brandywine Street NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: D32
Connecticut Avenue NW / Chesapeake Street NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: D32
Connecticut Avenue NW / Davenport Street NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: D32
Connecticut Avenue NW / Ellicott Street NW	Bidirectional
Connecticut Avenue NW / Nebraska Avenue NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: M4
Connecticut Avenue NW / Huntington Street NW	Bidirectional
Connecticut Avenue NW / Jocelyn Street NW	Bidirectional
Connecticut Avenue NW / Military Road NW	Bidirectional
Connecticut Avenue NW / Legation Street NW	Southbound
Connecticut Avenue NW / Livingston Street NW	Bidirectional
Connecticut Avenue NW / McKinley Street NW	Bidirectional	Metrobus: E4
Chevy Chase Circle / Connecticut Avenue	Southbound stop, Northbound terminal	Metrobus: L8

History

At different points, the Connecticut Avenue Line was al operated by the L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L7, L8, and L9. Eventually, the lines were converted into the Connecticut Avenue Line as the L1, L2, and L4, and then the Connecticut Avenue–Maryland Line as the L7 and L8. ^{[4] [5]}

Until June 17, 2012, the Connecticut Avenue Line was also served by the L4. The route operated from Dupont Circle to Chevy Chase Circle via Connecticut Avenue, of which the whole route overlapped with the L1 and L2.

On June 17, 2012, the line was restructured where the L1 would operate along Virginia Avenue NW, between 23rd and C streets NW. Route L2 would operate directly along Connecticut Avenue between Chevy Chase Circle and Farragut Square, while using the underpass at Dupont Circle, except for a diversion via Calvert Street and Columbia Road. Route L4 would be discontinued and replaced by routes L1 and L2 as the route was a duplicate to both the routes. ^[6]

On December 18, 2016, route L2 late night trips on Fridays and Saturdays were extended to both Friendship Heights station and Bethesda station due to earlier closure of Metrorail. ^[7]

In 2018, WMATA released a study on the L1 and L2. Proposals sets goes as follows: ^[8]

• Convert all route L1 trips to route L2 in order to simplify service options and increase weekday frequency between Chevy Chase Circle and Farragut Square
• During weekends, terminate every other Route L2 trip at Woodley Park. Between Chevy Chase Circle to Woodley Park, buses would run every 20 minutes instead of every 30 minutes, BUT between Woodley Park and Farragut Square, buses would run every 60 minutes instead of every 30 minutes.
• Have route L1 operate daily service terminate at 21st Street and Virginia Avenue NW instead of continuing south on 23rd Street and east on Constitution Avenue NW and northbound L1 trips be rerouted to operate along to go around Dupont Circle and north on Connecticut Ave NW instead of its current route via Massachusetts and Florida Avenues NW.

However, none of the proposals went through. ^{[9] [10]}

During the COVID-19 pandemic, route L1 was suspended beginning on March 16, 2020 and route L2 operated on its Saturday supplemental schedule. ^[11] However on March 18, 2020, further changes happened with route L2 operating on its Sunday schedule and weekend service being suspended beginning on March 21, 2020. ^[12] A modified schedule and all weekend service resumed on August 23, 2020 but Route L1 remained suspended and late night service to Bethesda station remained suspended. ^[13]

On September 26, 2020, WMATA proposed to eliminate all route L1 service due to low federal funding. Route L1 has not operated since March 13, 2020 due to Metro's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[14]

In February 2021, WMATA proposed to eliminate the L2 and replace it with a modified H2 and H4 which would run along Connecticut Avenue north of Calvert Street NW and Routes 42 and 43 south of Columbia Road NW to replace the L2 if WMATA does not get any federal funding. ^[15]

On September 5, 2021, Route L2 service was increased to operate every 20 minutes daily between 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM. This essentially replaced all Route L1 service as WMATA no longer lists the L1 on the WMATA website. ^[16]

Better Bus Redesign

In 2022, WMATA launched its Better Bus Redesign project, which aimed to redesign the entire Metrobus Network and is the first full redesign of the agency's bus network in its history.

In April 2023, WMATA launched its Draft Visionary Network. As part of the drafts, WMATA proposed to have the L2 still operate between Chevy Chase Circle and Farragut Square, but the route would remain along Connecticut Avenue NW, not serving the Adams Morgan neighborhood. The route would also be extended north to Bethesda station via Connecticut Avenue and East-West Highway, a similar pattern the L2 had prior to March 2020. The line was named Route DC102 in the drafts. Service inside Adams Morgan via 24th Street, Calvert Street, and Columbia Road would be operated by proposed Routes DC104 (along Columbia Road), and DC213 (along Calvert Street). ^[17]

During WMATA's Revised Draft Visionary Network, WMATA renamed the DC102 to Route D70, keeping the same routing. Service between Connecticut Avenue and Adams Morgan was to be replaced by proposed routes C51, C53, C55, and C57, having to transfer at Woodley Park station. ^[18] However prior to the proposals, the D70 was cutback to Chevy Chase Circle with the extension to Bethesda station being shelved. All changes were then proposed during WMATA's 2025 Proposed Network. ^{[19] [20] [21]}

On November 21, 2024, WMATA approved its Better Bus Redesign Network. ^[22]

Beginning on June 29, 2025, the L2 was changed to remain straight on Connecticut Avenue NW and no longer serve Adams Morgan or Duke Ellington Bridge, and it was renamed into the D70, partially reincarnating the former L1. Service along Calvert Street was covered by Route C51 (former Route 96), C53 (former Route 92) and service on Columbia Road was covered by Route D72 (former Routes 42 and 43). ^[23]

Notes

1. Caution: As of September 5, 2021, the L1 route has not operated since early 2020. It was discontinued on September 5, 2021 and replaced by frequent L2 service. See the History section for this entry.
2. The southern end of Connecticut Ave NW is at the northwest corner of Lafayette Square, where the avenue intersects with H St NW. At that intersection, the north-south street changes name from Connecticut Avenue NW to Jackson Place NW.

References

1. "Metrobus FY2024 Annual Line Performance Report" (PDF). wmata.com. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
2. Robert Thomson (February 19, 2009). "First Look at Possible Metro Service Cuts". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
3. "WASHINGTON DC TRANSIT ROUTES". www.chicagorailfan.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
4. "New Subway Stops Bring Metrobus Service Changes". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
5. "WASHINGTON DC TRANSIT ROUTES". www.chicagorailfan.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
6. "Metro News Release". wmata.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
7. "Metrobus Service Changes, December 18 | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
8. "ANC 3F resolution: L1/L2 bus proposals need more explanation and more community input | Forest Hills Connection || News and Life in Our DC Neighborhood". May 18, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
9. "Metrobus Service Evaluation Summary" (PDF). Retrieved January 25, 2021.
10. "Metro changes plans for L1 and L2 bus routes after riders push back | Forest Hills Connection || News and Life in Our DC Neighborhood". June 25, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
11. "Metro announces additional COVID-19 changes, including reduced service beginning Monday | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
12. "METRO SERVICE LEVELS & HOURS FURTHER REDUCED TO SUPPORT ESSENTIAL TRIPS ONLY, STARTING WEDNESDAY | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
13. "Metrobus Service Changes beginning August 23 | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
14. "Proposed Service Adjustments by Jurisdiction" (PDF). Retrieved September 27, 2020.
15. "FY22 Proposed Metrobus Service Changes District of Columbia" (PDF). Retrieved March 25, 2021.
16. "Improved frequency and changes to Metrobus service begin Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021" . Retrieved August 16, 2021.
17. "Draft Visionary District of Columbia Routes" (PDF). Retrieved July 29, 2025.
18. "Revised Visionary Network Route Summary" (PDF). Retrieved July 29, 2025.
19. "Proposed 2025 Network District of Columbia Routes" (PDF). Retrieved July 29, 2025.
20. "Revised Visionary Network Route Summary" (PDF).
21. "District of Columbia Better Bus Routes" (PDF).
22. "Metro Board of Directors approves Better Bus Network Redesign, new bus routes to start next summer". WMATA. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
23. "Metro Board of Directors approves Better Bus Network Redesign, new bus routes to start next summer". WMATA. Retrieved January 23, 2025.

External links

• Metrobus