Wilson Bridge dedication creates huge Beltway delays

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Call it an unexpected irony.

The Woodrow Wilson Bridge -- the expansion of which has been touted as a major improvement along Interstate 95 -- was to blame for huge delays on the day the bridge's second span was dedicated.

Preparation for the event began early Thursday, and caused drivers to slow down to see what was happening. The ceremony started at 11 a.m. and ended around noon.

While no lanes were closed during the morning rush hours, the right lane of I-95 before Interstate 295 was briefly shut down.

At one point, the Inner Loop backups on the Maryland side of the bridge extended for more than 8 miles.

"There is definitely some rubber-necking going on, and some additional traffic. The message we would like to get out to motorists is, 'Please keep driving,'" Wilson Bridge Project spokesperson Michelle Holland said of the backups.

For 5 1/2 hours, the backups were consistently 7 to 8 miles long.

WTOP Traffic Reporter Lisa Baden said it took drivers as much as 1 hour, 30 minutes to go those 7 or 8 miles.

"The port-a-potties are starting to look very tempting to the people sitting the backups for an hour and a half," Baden said.

Pressed by WTOP to explain the timing of the event, Holland said the dedication would take place when traffic was at its lightest.

But Holland went on to apologize.

"We do acknowledge that there is delay out there," she said. "We're working to do everything we can to keep traffic moving smoothly."

Local leaders including Govs. Tim Kaine and Martin O'Malley, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters were on hand for the dedication.

Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) tightened the last bolt on the bridge into place.

Woodrow Wilson's own 1919 Presidential Limousine was the first vehicle to cross the second span of the bridge, Wilson Bridge Project spokesman John Undeland says.

The second span of the Wilson Bridge will start carrying traffic at the end of the month, but it isn't expected to have a dramatic impact on commutes because only the local lanes are opening.

"We are still going to be at three lanes each way," says Undeland. "The alignment will be a little straighter, so folks can expect an incremental improvement."

All lanes of the local and express lanes on both spans will fully open in the fall or winter.

"When that happens, there will be a total of five lanes to travel each way," says Undeland.

But for many, seeing the second span open is a sign of progress with a transportation project that has become a part of everyday life in the region. The project will cost roughly $2.5 billion when it is finished.

"We have been underway in construction since 2000. The actual planning for the project goes back to the late 1980s. So there has been a lot of hard work, dedication and cooperation that has really made this achievement possible," Undeland says.

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