This weekend, drivers will see many ramp closures stemming from work on the Interstate-66 Transformation Project and work on Interstate 295/DC-295.
There will be routine maintenance work on five Metro lines.
Here’s what you need to know this weekend.
Roadwork
Virginia
In Fairfax County, this week saw temporary changes for the Route 28 and the I-66 interchange. As of Thursday, the right turn from Route 28 south to Braddock Road was permanently closed.
These changes, closures and nonstop construction is all part of the Transform 66 Outside of the Beltway Project. The Route 28/Braddock Road interchange redesign includes a new overpass, which will connect Braddock and Walney Roads. There will be no access from Route 28 south to Braddock Road. Motorists needing to access Braddock Road from Route 28 south will need to exit at Westfields Boulevard.
This will be the first weekend with the new permanent right turn closures and detour:
- Drivers on southbound Route 28 are directed to exit to westbound Westfields Boulevard before the closure to access Braddock Road
- Drivers on northbound Route 28 will continue to be directed to the exit to westbound Westfields Boulevard to reach Braddock Road
- New ramps from Route 28 north and I-66 west to the Braddock Road/Walney Road overpass are scheduled to open later this month
- Once open, the new overpass will provide access to and from both Braddock and Walney Roads
There will also be a temporary closure of eastbound Braddock Road this weekend between Newton Place and Route 28 to help implement a new traffic pattern going forward.
Also, this weekend, the Transformation Project will see multiple ramp closures and detours at various locations with I-66. There will be temporary ramp closures during the overnight hours at the I-66 interchanges at Nutley Street, U.S. 50, Route 28, Route 29 (Lee Highway) Centreville.
Both Thursday and Friday, overnight the ramp from Route 50 east to I-66 east will be closed between midnight and 4 a.m. for overhead bridge work. There will be detours posted to pass the normal exit and make a U-turn.
On Friday and Saturday overnight between midnight to 5 a.m., and Sunday between midnight and 4 a.m., the ramp from I-66 east to southbound Nutley Street will be closed for paving work. There will be detours posted for motorists to make U-turns.
In Manassas, the ramp from I-66 east to Route 234 (Prince William Parkway) south is closed Thursday, Friday and Saturday for paving between the hours of 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. The detour will have motorists exiting farther east too Route 234 Business (Sudley Road) to use Balls Ford Road.
Overnight Friday night, the ramp from I-66 east to Route 29 will be closed between midnight and 5 a.m. with traffic being directed to farther east to u-turn at Route 286 (Fairfax County Parkway).
In Centreville, all weekend the ramp from Route 28 south to I-66 west will be closed and detoured overnight between midnight and 4 a.m. for crews to implement new traffic pattern changes. During this time, traffic will be directed to continue farther south on Route 29 following signs to access to I-66 west.
As always, not all work with these extensive projects and ever-changing configurations will be listed here. Be sure to stay tuned to WTOP news with traffic on the 8s. And, if you see something that’s not being reported, you can call the Traffic Center at 866-304-WTOP.
Maryland
In Mt. Airy, a new overnight paving project is underway for the next week.
The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) is now paving MD-27 (Ridge Road) between Gillis Falls Road and Harrisville Road where motorists can expect single lane closures and a flagging operation during overnight work hours.
This is part of a $3.3 million project to realign the intersection and enhance safety, which includes new left-turn and deceleration lanes on MD-27 along with wider shoulders. Motorists through this section need to stay alert and focused with reduced speed limits and changing driving pattern changes.
The Beltway Outer Loop lane closures are set to continue over the Northwest Branch Bridge between MD-650 New Hampshire Ave and MD-193 University Boulevard in Montgomery County.
The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) is continuing its long-term work, which will have intermittent closures of one, two and three lanes during off-peak hours.
- Monday through Thursday, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
- Weekends from 9 p.m. on Friday through 5 a.m. on Monday mornings
MDOT SHA wants to remind travelers to stay alert, focus on driving and, look for reduced speed limits, as well as other driving pattern changes.
There is work scheduled for the Inner and Outer loops of I-495 (Capital Beltway) between MD 97 (Georgia Avenue) to MD 185 (Connecticut Avenue).
A bridge rehabilitation project is expected to have intermittent single weekday single lane closures, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and intermittent overnight single double and triple lane closures with full traffic stops, beginning Sunday through Thursday, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. through year-end 2020.
In Howard County, MDOT SHA will start overnight pavement repairs to two bridge decks on northbound Interstate 95 in Columbia starting Sunday night around 8 p.m.
The first bridge is located on eastbound MD-32 (Patuxent Freeway) exit ramp to northbound I-95; the other is over Guilford Road.
Crews will close the eastbound MD-32 exit ramp and one left lane of northbound I-95 at 8 p.m. A second left lane of northbound I-95 closes at 9 p.m. All lanes are expected to reopen by 5 a.m. the next day. These repairs will be done Sunday night through Friday morning over the next two weeks, weather permitting.
Motorists on eastbound MD-32 traveling to northbound I-95 will be detoured to the U.S. 1 interchange to access westbound MD-32 to reach their destination. Motorists can expect signs, barrels and cones to guide them through the detour.
DC
This week saw bridge repairs on 14th Street over the Potomac River, and that is scheduled to continue through this weekend, weather permitting.
The District Department of Transportation is working on a bridge preservation and repair project on the inbound curb lane of 14th Street (I-395) over Potomac River. This work is scheduled to close at least one lane daily between 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. through Monday.
DDOT also has work scheduled through this weekend that will temporarily close lanes, ramps and shoulders along and near the I-295 / DC 295 corridor. This is all part of the long-standing I-295/DC-295 Improvement Project. Through this weekend the scheduled work locations include:
- I-295 between Laboratory Road / US Naval Research Lab (Exit 1) to I-695 to I-395 Downtown (Exit 5A)
- South Capitol Street, SE/SW between Firth Sterling Avenue, SE and N Street, SE
- South Capitol Street, SE/SW between MLK Jr. Avenue, SE and Malcolm X Avenue, SE
- South Capitol Street, SE/SW ramps to South Capitol Street / Malcolm X Avenue / JBAB and Martin Luther King Jr, Avenue, SE
- Suitland Parkway will be closed between Firth Sterling Avenue and South Capitol Street, SE on Saturday between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Also this week, the work continues in the overnight hours with closures on the Suitland Parkway.
DDOT reports they will be continuing this work all the into Saturday. The overnight work, between 8 p.m. through 5 a.m., closes the Suitland between South Capitol Street and Firth Sterling Avenue, SE, which means no access to I-295/Suitland Parkway interchange.
Metro
There is routine maintenance scheduled this weekend for the Red, Silver, Blue, Yellow and Green Lines.
Due to platform work, the Red Line will be single tracking between Silver Spring and Forest Glen.
The Silver Line will have a shut down between Spring Hill and Weihle-Reston East with the Weihle-Reston East station closed.
The Yellow and Green Lines will be single tracking overnight between Georgia Avenue-Petworth and Fort Totten due to fire system upgrades.
There continues to be minimal impact Reagan National Airport platform rehabilitation project, which is scheduled through December.
Through the weekend, 90 of 91 stations will be open with service scheduled during the hours of 7 a.m. through 11 p.m. on Saturday, 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Sunday.
Trains will run on normal or near-normal frequencies on all lines, with buses replacing trains between Wiehle-Reston East and Spring Hill stations due to Silver Line Phase 2 tie-in work.
Weekend service summary:
- Red Line ——trains every 15 minutes
- Blue Line and Orange Line ——trains every 20 minutes
- Silver Line ——trains every 15-20 minutes; Wiehle-Reston East station closed. Shuttle buses provided
- Yellow and Green Line ——trains every 15 to 20 minutes and will single track between U Street and Georgia-Petworth after 10 p.m. for fire systems upgrades
