Starting Friday, and lasting through Thursday, Jan. 21, Metro will close 13 stations inside a security perimeter that has been established for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, with 11 stations closing Friday and another two stations closing Saturday.
Downtown, federal authorities locked down a large swath of roads earlier than originally planned after the Jan. 6 deadly riots and before the Jan. 20 inauguration.
Overnight stops are planned for I-66 and work is planned for the Beltway in Maryland.
Metro
Metro will close 13 stations inside the security perimeter, with 11 stations closing on Friday and two additional stations on Saturday and continuing through the end of service on Thursday.
Beginning Friday and continuing for six days, trains will operate Saturday service frequencies — every 12 minutes on the Red Line and every 15 minutes on all other lines — bypassing all closed stations while residents are urged by officials to stay out of the downtown area.
In addition, 26 bus routes will be detoured around this security perimeter from Friday through Thursday.
Metrobus will operate normal service on weekdays and weekends to accommodate customers making trips outside the zone, with the exception of Jan. 20, when buses will operate on a Saturday schedule.
Saturday through next Friday, Metro has closed 13 stations inside the security perimeter. This means all trains will be bypassing the following stations:
- Red Line: Farragut North, Judiciary Square and Union Station
- Yellow/Green: Archives
- Blue: Arlington Cemetery
- Blue/Orange/Silver: Farragut West, McPherson Sq., Federal Center SW. Capitol South, Smithsonian, and Federal Triangle
- Metro Center and Gallery Place to re-open Friday morning
Roadwork
Virginia
On Interstate 66 approaching Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) all lanes will close nightly this weekend, Friday through Sunday, to allow demolition of the old northbound Route 123 bridge over I-66 as part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project.
All traffic on I-66 will be detoured around the closure using the ramps and service road for Route 123. Route 123 will remain open and drivers traveling through this interchange during the work closures can expect delays.
Through Saturday morning on I-66, there has been overhead utility work happening for the new Route 123 ((Chain Bridge Road) bridge closing three lanes of travel with stops nightly of up to 20 minutes between midnight and 4 a.m.
Between Nutley Street and the Beltway, motorists on I-66 will see similar bridge work at Vaden Drive reducing travel to a single lane with stops between midnight and 4 a.m.
There will be sweeping and maintenance again this weekend during the daytime hours with mobile, single lane closures anywhere between Gainesville and the Beltway between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
In Centreville, Route 29 (Lee Highway) northbound at I-66 will see lanes closed overnight through Saturday morning for continued overhead bridge demolition.
Work is continuing of Route 28 between E.C. Lawrence Park and I-66 overnights, where crews have implemented a new traffic shift leaving only a single lane getting by overnights between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. This work is scheduled to continue into Saturday morning.
The ramp from Route 28 south to eastbound I-66 continues to be closed and detoured overnights, between midnight and 4 a.m., through Saturday morning.
At the I-66/Stringfellow Road interchange, there has been overnight bridge work leaving only a single lane of travel on Stringfellow Road overnights through 5 a.m. Saturday.
In Fairfax, I-66 continues to see overnight bridge work at the US-50 interchange. This work continues nightly from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. with travel reduced to a single lane and stops of 10 minutes at a time possible between midnight and 4 a.m. This work is scheduled into Saturday.
With this work, Route 50 east, from West Ox Road through I-66, is being reduced to a single lane with stops of up to 20 minutes at a time. The ramp from Route 50 west to westbound I-66 will be closed and detoured during this bridge beam installation.
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. If you see something that’s not being reported, you can call the Traffic Center at 866-304-WTOP.
Maryland
In Bethesda, all south-bound lanes of Wisconsin Avenue/Md. 355 between Bethesda Avenue and Elm Street in Bethesda will be closed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 16, to set up a 75-ton crane to hoist steel for future construction. There will flagging and a police in the area to help direct traffic to one temporary south-bound lane that will be created from a regular north-bound lane. In case of bad weather, they’ll shoot for Sunday.
The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) is continuing to work on the Beltway I-95/I-495 bridge over the Suitland Parkway, between MD-4 Pennsylvania Avenue (exit 11) and Allentown Road/Joint Base Andrews (exit 9).
Beyond shoulders being closed in both directions 24/7, there have been single and double lane closures overnights, which will continue into Saturday and Sunday mornings through 11 a.m. This work will be possible through the year’s end.
Also, on the Beltway in Montgomery County, work is scheduled to continue in both directions of the Beltway between MD-97/Georgia Avenue and MD-185/Connecticut Avenue.
This bridge rehabilitation project sees weekday intermittent lane closures and overnight single, double and triple lane closures with full traffic stops, Sunday through Thursday, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. through late fall 2021.
In Anne Arundel County, MDOT SHA crews are set to begin work on the MD-450 Bridge over the North River. Beginning Tuesday and continuing through late Spring, MD-450 near St. Stephens Church Road will see a traffic shift and lane closures for bridge restoration.
The work on the MD-450 Defense Highway will be between Pebblebrook Court and St. Stephens Church, weather permitting. The two-lane bridge is located just west of St. Stephens Church Road.
Crews will begin setting up a concrete barrier with a flagging operation daily between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Two lanes will be maintained throughout the duration of the project and residents will be able to access both MD-450 and local roadways during construction.
Portable variable message signs have been placed along MD-450, advising area residents and motorists of the upcoming work. Motorists can use MD-214 Central Avenue and US-50 John Hanson Highway as alternate routes to avoid delays.
DC
In the District, it’s all about closures and security for the upcoming inauguration. In conjunction with Metro, officials have set up a security parameter to include closures around the Capitol Building and the National Mall.
Federal authorities already closed a large swath of D.C. earlier than originally planned after the deadly Jan. 6 riots and before the Jan. 20 inauguration. See the full list of street closures.
