WASHINGTON — For D.C. area residents sticking around this weekend, there will be plenty of Memorial Day weekend events to check out and plenty of road closures to go with them including rolling closures along Interstate 66.
United House of Prayer Annual Memorial Day Parade
The annual Parade will start and end at United House of Prayer for All People at the corner of 6th and M streets NW on Saturday. Road closures include:
- 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. — M Street NW from 6th to 7th street
- 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. — 6th Street NW from L Street to S Street NW; S Street NW from 5th to 14th street; 13th Street NW from S to O street; Logan Circle; P Street NW from 14th to 6 street; 7th Street NW from Q to L street
Rolling Thunder
Drivers should expect heavy motorcycle traffic throughout the capital region this weekend. But the official rally is Sunday.
Rally areas will be available on the north and south lots at the Pentagon beginning at 7 a.m. A staging area will be set up in front of the Lincoln Memorial at Ohio Drive and Independence Avenue. The Rolling Thunder Ride for Freedom will leave the north Pentagon parking lot about noon Sunday and travel across the Arlington Memorial Bridge and into the District ending at Franklin D. Roosevelt Park.
But three groups of rally participants will be leaving Harley-Davidson dealerships in Dumfries, Manassas and Fairfax Circle about 8 a.m. Local and state police will coordinate the procession for the estimated 5,000 riders to the Pentagon, which will require rolling shutdowns and restricted access to Interstate 66 and U.S. 1.
The express lanes/HOV lanes on Interstates 95 and 395 will be open only to the motorcycle procession. However the main lanes will be open to general traffic.
Visitors to Arlington National Cemetery can access the grounds only from southbound George Washington Memorial Parkway or from northbound Virginia Route 110. Access to Interstate 395 from many surface streets in Pentagon City will be restricted.
Road closures Sunday:
- 7 to 11 a.m. — Interstate 395 reversible HOV lanes and the 95 Express Lanes. When the lanes reopen to general traffic, they will be pointed northbound. Stringfellow Road and Monument Drive on-ramps to Interstate 66 in Fairfax County.
- 8 to 11 a.m. — U.S. 1 from Joplin Road in Quantico to Opitz Boulevard in Woodbridge. Drivers should expect rolling closures as the motorcycles proceed north. The procession will travel on I-95 to Joplin Road to access U.S. 1 in Quantico. They will access the 95 Express Lanes from Opitz Boulevard and take the restricted lanes all the way to the Pentagon
- 8 to 11 a.m. — Interstate 66 eastbound will have restricted access and drivers should expect rolling closures that last up to 30 minutes.
- The procession will enter the interstate between 8 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. from the Virginia Route 234 Bypass in Prince William County.
- All general eastbound traffic will be diverted onto Fairfax County Parkway beginning at 8:15 a.m.
- Drivers should expect Nutley Street to be closed to general traffic in Vienna.
- Motorists will not be able to access I-66 from U.S. 50, Route 123, Nutley Street, Stringfellow Road or Monument Drive.
- On-ramps will continue to close as the procession moves from Fairfx County into Arlington County, where it will access the Pentagon north gate from Routes 110/27.
- 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Washington Boulevard (Virginia Route 27) will be closed from I-395 to the Memorial Bridge.
- 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. — Memorial Bridge and Memorial Circle will be closed to traffic. Spectators will be able to view the rally from the sidewalks.
- 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Constitution Avenue NW from 23rd to 3rd street NW; 3rd Street NW from Constitution to Independence avenue; Maryland Avenue SW from 3rd Street SW to Independence Avenue SW; Independence Avenue SW from 3rd Street SW to West Potomac Park SW
National Memorial Day Concert
The annual concert event on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol begins at 8 p.m. Sunday. Gates open at 5 p.m. Road closures will be in place all weekend.
12:01 a.m. Friday through 4 a.m. Monday:
- 1st Street SW/NW from Independence to Constitution avenue
- Maryland Avenue SW from 1st to 3rd street
- Pennsylvania Avenue NW from 1st to 3rd street
12th Annual National Memorial Day Parade
The parade begins at 2 p.m. Monday at the corner of Constitution Avenue and 7th Street NW and will end just past the White House and the National World War II Memorial at 17th Street.
The parade will include veterans from World War II and conflicts since then. Celebrities including Gary Sinise, Joe Mantegna, Buzz Aldrin, Trent Harmon, and Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell will also participate.
Road closures Monday afternoon:
- 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. — 7th Street NW/SW from Constitution Avenue NW to Independence Avenue SW
- 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.:
- 6th, 9th, 10th, 12th, and 15th streets NW from Pennsylvania to Constitution avenue NW
- 7th Street NW from Pennsylvania to Independence avenue
- 14th Street from Pennsylvania to Independence avenue
- Constitution Avenue from 15th to 23rd streets
