at the intersection of
Connecticut Avenue (right) and M Street NW (left) In
Northwest Washington, M Street is a major street
downtown and the main east–west street in the
Georgetown neighborhood. M Street NW begins at the
Key Bridge, which crosses the
Potomac River at the 3500 block. To the west of 36th Street, M Street turns into
Canal Road. M Street was originally called Bridge Street until the roads in Georgetown were
renamed in 1895 to conform to the
street names used in
Pierre Charles L'Enfant's original plan for the federal city. Where 32nd Street would otherwise be, M Street intersects with
Wisconsin Avenue. At 29th Street, it meets the western terminus of
Pennsylvania Avenue. This is the last major intersection before the
M Street Bridge over
Rock Creek, which forms the eastern border of Georgetown. The section in Georgetown carries heavy commuter traffic because it connects Pennsylvania Avenue with the Key Bridge and Canal Road. From Pennsylvania Avenue to
Thomas Circle at
14th Street, M Street is designated for
one-way traffic with vehicles driving westbound-only. M Street once again becomes two-way in Georgetown. This stretch is highly developed, consisting mainly of apartments from 26th to 21st and businesses from 21st to Thomas Circle. From 14th Street to 5th Street NW, M Street is again two-way. Although, halfway through the 900 block, the street turns eastbound. Between 9th and
7th Streets NW, it passes underneath the
Walter E. Washington Convention Center. From 5th Street to
North Capitol Street, it assumes a complex traffic pattern because of the intersections and near-intersections of several high-traffic streets: M,
New York Avenue/
U.S. Route 50, the northern terminus of
Interstate 395, New Jersey Avenue, and North Capitol Street. Traffic is west-to-east from 5th to 4th, east-to-west from New York to 4th, and west-to-east from New York through North Capitol and onto M Street NE. ==M Street NE==