This weekend will see work on I-66 and on US-29 in Centreville where bridge demolition continues. After a brief break, work at the Northwest Branch Bridge on the Beltway returns, and Metro will have work on all but the Red Line this weekend, with a few Blue Line stations shut down.
Roadwork
Maryland
The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) says off-peak hours weekend work is scheduled to continue on the Outer Loop of I-495 (the Capital Beltway) over the Northwest Branch Bridge between Md. Route 650 (New Hampshire Avenue) and Md. Route 193 (University Boulevard) in Montgomery County.
MDOT SHA took a bit of a holiday reprieve but they are back to scheduling this work, weather permitting, into the end of the year.
Motorists through this stretch of the Beltway can expect intermittent closures of up to three lanes during off-peak hours: Monday through Thursday, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and weekends from 9 p.m. on Friday through 5 a.m. on Monday mornings.
This means the weekend could see three work spots, as the work in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties is still on the books through the end of the year.
In Prince George’s County, there could be intermittent single to multiple lane closures on I-95/I-495 due to the bridge replacement work at the Suitland Parkway and Suitland Road. On the Beltway between Md. Route 4 (Pennsylvania Avenue) and Suitland Road, 24-hour daily closures are possible.
On the Beltway in Montgomery County, daily work between Md. Route 97 (Georgia Avenue) and Md. Route 185 (Connecticut Avenue) continues with weekend lane closures. Drivers overnight will see multiple lane closures with full stops Sundays through Thursdays from 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. through the end of the year.
The work picks up again on the Purple Line, with work this weekend scheduled in a couple of locations. Beginning on or about Saturday, crews will perform weekend pavement marking along University Boulevard, between West Park Drive and Carroll Avenue, weather permitting, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
There could also be temporary lane closures for the weekend pavement marking scheduled for Md. Route 384 (Colesville Road) between Draper Lane and Georgia Avenue this weekend, weather permitting, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Virginia
A few locations will be affected by the ongoing Transform I-66 Project, which has been closing I-66 for work nightly this past week. This work will continue nightly again starting Sunday night; it’s scheduled through next Thursday, Dec. 17, weather permitting.
Out of Gainesville on I-66 eastbound, from Route 29 (Lee Highway) to just past the Prince William parkway, the work will reduce travel to a single lane nightly between 8 p.m. and 9 a.m. on Saturday morning. Crews here are implementing a new traffic shift with all lanes diverting into the service road at some point in the overnight hours.
There will also be multiple lane closed westbound I-66 between Cub Run and Sudley Road during this same time period.
Crews are also expected to be back in Centreville this weekend; weather permitting, the bridge demolition work for the old I-66 bridges over Virginia Route 29 is scheduled to continue.
From 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday, Route 29 at I-66 will be reduced to a single travel lane in each direction, with two-way traffic running in the southbound lanes. There will be no left turns on the ramps to and from I-66. During the overnight hours, there will only be a single lane of travel alternating through the work zone, controlled by flaggers.
In Fairfax, the ramp from I-66 west to Route 123 Chain Bridge Road north is scheduled to close during the day Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. for paving. Traffic will be directed to stay to the left on the ramp toward Route 123 South, then turn right at the traffic signal on to Route 123 North.
In a look ahead, there will be overnight lane closures on I-66 approaching Gallows Road for upcoming overhead utility work at the Gallows Road Bridge. Gallows Road over I-66 is reduced to a single travel lane nightly, with two-way traffic in the southbound lanes.
Here’s what drivers can expect nightly through Dec. 17:
- I-66 between Cedar Lane to Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) is reduced to one travel lane approaching Gallows Road
- There will periodic stoppages of up to 20 minutes between midnight and 4 a.m.
- All lanes should reopen by 5 a.m.
This work will also close the ramp from the northbound 495 Express Lanes to westbound I-66. Traffic will be detoured to I-66 East: Take the exit for Route 7, stay to the left and turn left at the traffic signal, then follow the signs to I-66 westbound.
On Sunday in Rosslyn, a building demolition will close roadways around the Holiday Inn at 1900 Fort Myer Drive, which includes I-66 between the U.S. 29 exits in Arlington, at about 7:45 a.m. VDOT says eastbound traffic on I-66 will be detoured onto U.S. 29 at the Spout Run exit, with Exit 73 to Rosslyn closed.
The exact timing is subject to change, depending on safety, weather, and crowd control. You can see the list of the streets to be affected from WTOP.
As always, not all work with these extensive projects and ever-changing configurations will be listed here. Be sure to stay tuned to WTOP, 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.
DC
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has more plans through this weekend for work along I-295, the South Capitol Street Project and the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge as the Improving 295 DC Project continues.
The work will temporarily close lanes, ramps and shoulders to build along and near the I-295/D.C. Route 295 corridor, weather permitting.
Full closures are planned for the Suitland Parkway between Firth Sterling Avenue and South Capitol Street in Southeast through the weekend. Also, Howard Road in Southeast will be closed from Firth Sterling Avenue to the WMATA Access nightly from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. scheduled through Monday morning.
There will be lanes and ramp closures this weekend on I-295 between Exit 1 (Laboratory Road / US Naval Research Lab) and I-695, on South Capitol Street and on Suitland Parkway daily.
Single left or right lane closures are planned for Firth Sterling Avenue Southeast, Potomac Avenue Southeast and Southwest, Half Street Southwest, Howard Road Southeast, Barry Road Southeast, St. Elizabeths Avenue Southeast, Malcolm X Avenue Southeast and South Capitol Street. Please expect delays when traveling these corridors.
This Saturday, parking restrictions go into place around 6 a.m. as a “Million MAGA March” rally is scheduled to kick off around noon. A number of rolling street closures will go into place around the same time, including streets around Freedom Plaza and Pennsylvania and Constitution avenues in Northwest around the National Mall and the Capitol. A full list of closures can be found here.
Metro
Normal preventive maintenance is scheduled this weekend, with the Blue Line seeing a shutdown point and late-night single tracking all but the Red Line.
The Blue Line will shut down between Franconia-Springfield and King Street-Old Town for signal systems upgrades. This work closes the Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn Street stations.
Other systems upgrades will cause single-tracking on the Green and Yellow lines after 10 p.m. between Fort Totten and Prince George’s Plaza, and the Blue, Orange and Silver lines will single-track after 10 p.m. between Federal Center SW and Eastern Market.
Metro will operate on a normal weekend schedule, opening at 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday with trains at normal service frequencies for 89 of the 91 stations.
On Sunday, the Rosslyn station is scheduled to open about 30 minutes late due to the nearby building demolition — 8:30 a.m. Blue, Orange and Silver Line riders may experience minor adjustments as the trains bypass this station.
Weekend service summary:
Red Line: Trains run every 12 to 15 minutes.
Blue Line: Trains every 18 to 20 minutes between Huntington and Largo Town Center only.
- Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn Street stations closed
- Free buses replace trains between Franconia-Springfield, Van Dorn Street and Eisenhower Avenue
- Free buses available between Franconia-Springfield and the Pentagon.
- Trains single-track between Federal Center SW and Eastern Market
Orange Line: Trains every 18 to 20 minutes.
Trains single-track between Federal Center SW and Eastern Market
No stops at Rosslyn on Sunday; consider using Court House as an alternate
Silver Line: Trains every 18-20 minutes, operating between Wiehle-Reston and Ballston only Transfer to/from the Orange Line to continue your trip.
Yellow and Green lines: Trains every 15 to 20 minutes. Trains single-track after 10 p.m. between Fort Totten and Prince George’s Plaza.
Metro riders are required to wear face coverings.
