Weekend Wakeup: Road closures and Columbus Day

WASHINGTON — Big events and an Orange Line closure are the big things to consider when making travel plans this weekend.

On the east side of the Orange Line, buses will replace trains between New Carrollton and Stadium-Armory from Friday night at 10 p.m. through Metro’s closing Sunday night.

Metro is also doing track work this weekend on the Red Line between Twinbrook and Grosvenor, but trains will run through the area. Trains will run every 16 to 20 minutes between Shady Grove and Glenmont, with extra trains between Grosvenor and Silver Spring running from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For Columbus Day on Monday, Metro plans to run a Saturday schedule, but the system will open at 5 a.m. There is no track work scheduled Monday.

Parking at Metro lots is free on Columbus Day. (See more details below.)

Weekend Events

Expect extra traffic on Route 50 as thousands of people are expected to flock to Annapolis for the annual sailboat show. Organizers recommend parking at the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium. Parking there is $10 with a free shuttle running to Church Circle and City Dock. There are several other places to park along the Annapolis Circulator route.

This is also the second-to-last weekend of the Maryland Renaissance Festival in Crownsville, which could add even more traffic. If considering attending, remember that tickets bought online are not refundable even if it is raining.

On Saturday, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office expects delays in White Plains due to a funeral service. Several hundred people are expected at the New Life Church, with the procession departing sometime around 11 a.m. The procession is expected to take 301 South to Washington Ave, and eventually take Route 5 (Mattawoman Beantown Rd.) to Trinity Memorial Gardens. There could be delays for other drivers between White Plains and Waldorf.

Also in Charles County Saturday, the Town of La Plata is scheduled to have a parade, and a bike ride will be held in Bryans Road.

Several high schools across the Washington area are also holding homecoming parades this weekend which could impact traffic on local roads.

In the District, a number of roads will be closed.

Taste of DC is Saturday and Sunday on Pennsylvania Avenue. between Freedom Plaza and 9th St. NW. In addition to Pennsylvania Avenue, cross streets will be closed between E St. and Constitution Avenue. The closures begin Friday at midnight, and are scheduled to last until 11 p.m. Sunday.

Streets will also be closed around the International Monetary Fund and Wold Bank from 10 p.m. Friday through 5 p.m Sunday. That includes the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue between 18th Street and 20th Street NW, H Street NW and G Street NW between 18th and 20th streets, and 18th, 19th and 20th streets at Pennsylvania Ave.

On Sunday morning, roads will be closed near Judiciary Square and the north side of the Capitol for the National Law Enforcement Run to Remember 5k. The 400 block of F Street will be closed from 4 a.m. to 11 a.m. Other streets, including Independence Avenue from 3rd Street SW to 1st Street SW will be closed from 7:15 a.m to 8:30 a.m Sunday.

In Arlington, roads will be closed Sunday morning for the Race for the Cause 8K:

  • North Quincy Street from Glebe Road to Wilson Boulevard will be closed from 5:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday.
  • Eastbound Wilson Boulevard from Quincy Street to North 10th Street will be closed from 7:45 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday.
  • Eastbound North 10th Street to Washington Boulevard will be closed from 7:45 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday.
  • Southbound Washington Boulevard from North 10th Street to Rt. 244 will be closed from 7:45 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday.

There are temporary parking restrictions on the route all weekend, so be on the lookout for signs.

The Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church moves its annual Greek festival to Silver Spring this weekend. The festival runs all afternoon Saturday and Sunday, and is expected to draw sizable crowds to the area near New Hampshire Avenue and Norwood Road.

In Baltimore, the Baltimore Running Festival will take over the roads on Saturday. 27,000 runners from around the world take off between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. for a marathon, half-marathon, relay or 5k. Marathon runners start and finish near M&T Bank Stadium and Camden Yards, and run past the Maryland Zoo, Johns Hopkins, Clifton and Patterson Parks and the Inner Harbor. Expect extra traffic in the city, and on I-95, Route 29 and Route 1.

Lane closures

Emergency repairs on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway will block at least one lane Friday night into Saturday as crews try to fix problems with the pavement. Lanes will be closed between the Baltimore Beltway in Anne Arundel County and the Baltimore County line. The State Highway Administration recommends using Route 1 or I-95, and plans to provide updates Saturday if the closure will impact runners and fans headed to the running festival.

In Silver Spring, expect lane closures on Georgia Avenue for several weeks. Crews are allowed to close two lanes between 9 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday. They can close one lane between noon Saturday and 5 a.m. Monday. The crews are working on bus pads and repaving. The work between Spring Street and Colesville Road should be done in late fall.

Late-night closures

Expect single-lane closures on I-395 in D.C. DDOT is working near the 14th Street Bridge between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. through Oct. 16.

Construction work this weekend will also lead to lane closures on New York Avenue. NE. Weather permitting, crews will be working between 4th Street and the 9th Street Bridge between 8 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday. DDOT says at least one lane will remain open in each direction, but there are often delays in the area even when there is not any extra roadwork, so finding an alternate route may be the best bet.

Due to the holiday weekend, HOV lanes on I-95 and I-395 in Virginia will only close during overnight hours. They will be open during the day. There will be no daytime lane closures associated with the Express Lanes project on Saturday or Sunday. On Monday, there will be limited lane closures in Stafford County as crews work on the Garrisonville Road bridge.

Columbus Day Changes

Due to the holiday, MARC trains will not run on Monday. Amtrak trains do not honor MARC weekly passes on holidays when MARC is not operating.

In a change from the past, VRE is planning to provide service. Trains will run on an “S” schedule. VRE says the number of riders on Monday will be used to “determine what service, if any, we will run on other “soft” holidays, like Veteran’s Day, MLK, President’s Day, etc.” VRE will not provide feeder bus service Monday.

As noted above, Metrorail will open at 5 a.m., but otherwise operate on a Saturday schedule. Metro parking lots are free on Columbus Day, and there is no track work scheduled. Metrobus will operate on a Saturday supplemental schedule. MetroAccess service will operate on a regular schedule, but subscription trips will be canceled.

MTA Commuter Buses will not be running, except for route 201.

OmniRide Commuter Bus and Metro Direct will operate on a modified holiday schedule Monday with limited service. OmniLink local buses and cross county connector service will operate a regular weekday schedule.

PRTC warns that Dumfries OmniLink riders who use the College Rd. stops at the NOVA Campus may instead need to catch the bus on Neabsco Mills Rd. if scheduled roadwork continues into Monday.

Loudoun County Transit commuter buses will operate on a limited schedule. There will be no service from St. Andrew, Ashburn North, Dulles South, Christian Fellowship Church, Goose Creek Village, Brambleton or Our Lady of Hope. There will also be no Ashburn LINK Shuttle service.

Fairfax Connector will run on a holiday weekday schedule.

DASH will operate a Saturday schedule on Columbus Day. The King Street Trolley will operate every 15 minutes between the King Street Station and the Alexandria waterfront.

ART buses 41, 42, 51, 77 and 87 will run on Saturday schedules. All other routes will not operate.

RideOn buses will operate on a normal weekday schedule since Columbus Day is not an official Montgomery County holiday.

TheBus in Prince George’s County will operate normal service, except for the routes that serve the County Administration Building. Routes 51, 51 extended and 52 will not run. Paratransit and Call-A-Bus will also not run Monday.

In D.C. and Alexandria, parking meters and time limits will not be enforced Monday.

Drivers do need to feed parking meters and observe all usual weekday parking restrictions in Montgomery and Arlington counties.

Schools are closed in many, but not all, parts of the area.

In D.C., all recreation centers and aquatic centers are closed on Columbus Day.

Looking ahead

Beginning Oct. 15, HOV lanes on northbound I-95 and I-395 will close on weekdays at 11 a.m. rather than 10 a.m. The southbound HOV lanes will open by 1 p.m.

Overnight lane closures tied to the 95 Express Lanes project will continue this week. Work starts as early as 9 p.m, and can run as late as 9 a.m. on weekend mornings.

Other projects on I-95 and the Beltway will have single lanes closed in the middle of the day.

Work tied to the Silver Line will continue to close lanes outside of rush hour on I-66, the Dulles Connector Road, Chain Bridge Road (123) and Leesburg Pike (Route 7).

Work on New York Avenue NE will close lanes Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights from South Dakota Avenue to the D.C. and Maryland line.

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