The summer months bring lots of road and infrastructure work to the D.C. region, and this season is no different.
We take a deeper dive into what’s been happening to and around the National Mall. As usual, all work will be dictated by the weather — and we have thunderstorms in our forecast for the weekend. As it stands, here’s what is planned for the District, Maryland and I-66 in Virginia.
Roadwork
DC
The National Park Service has been making improvements to roads, trails and crosswalks heading toward and around the National Mall. This is not only to improve safety and accessibility, but also to complete some much-needed repairs and paving. The Park Service is undertaking several projects over the next year to create seamless connections across the National Mall by rehabilitating trails and roads.
There have been, and will continue to be, daily lane closures along the Rock Creek Parkway and Potomac Parkway, along with Independence Avenue SW.
As of this week, there is a full closure of 17th Street across the Mall, between Independence and Constitution, for much-needed road repair through late July or early August. The road closure is needed to replace deteriorated concrete. Pedestrian crossings along 17th Street will also temporarily close. There are detour signs posted. Independence Avenue SW and Constitution Avenue NW will remain open.
The National Park Service is also installing new traffic signal equipment and wiring as well as paving at intersections across the National Mall to improve accessibility and increase safety for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists.
There will still be off-peak lane closures along I-295 between Laboratory Road (Exit 1) and I-695/Southeast Freeway/11th Street Bridge. This work is being scheduled through Monday, weather permitting.
The lane and ramp closures along the Suitland Parkway, Firth Sterling and South Capitol Street and the I-295 bridge over the Suitland Parkway are continuously being scheduled as part of the ongoing Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge Project.
With this project, the following full ramp closures will also occur during off-peak hours:
- Exit 4 from I-295 northbound (South Capitol Street / Suitland Parkway)
- Exit 4 from I-295 southbound (South Capitol Street / Suitland Parkway)
- I-295 northbound on-ramp from northbound Firth Sterling Avenue SE
- The ramp from South Capitol Street / MLK Jr. Avenue to I-295 northbound (continuously)
For this weekend, there is a full closure and detour planned for eastbound Suitland Parkway between South Capitol Street and Firth Sterling Avenue from Friday night through Monday morning, weather permitting.
As of this past Monday continuing through Saturday, single lane closures are scheduled on I-295 northbound between Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue and Benning Road NE.
Virginia
The Transform I-66 Outside the Beltway Project continues to change the landscape and travel patterns on what seems to be a daily basis. That continues to be the case for this weekend, weather permitting. There has been a focus on the Route 29/I-66 interchange in Centreville for much of this week. This bridge beam installation project is slated to continue through the weekend.
This work has been reducing the travel down to one lane in each direction of Route 29 under I-66 nightly between 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., with a lane closure scheduled daily throughout the weekend.
There will be some variations of lane reduction from 9 p.m. Friday through Monday morning, with overnights Friday and Saturday being reduced to a single lane controlled by flaggers alternating travel. During those times, no left turns will be permitted. Expect all ramps to and from I-66 and US 29 to be closed and detoured with this work throughout the weekend.
In Fairfax, the demolition of the old Route 50 eastbound bridge over I-66 has seen multiple nights of closures on I-66 West, intermittent traffic stoppages on I-66 East and closures of multiple ramps. This will also happen on Saturday night. The I-66 West ramps to and from Route 50 will be closed as well. Traffic will be detoured using Route 50 and West Ox Road.
As this demolition takes shape, the travel lanes on westbound I-66 between Route 50 and Route 286 Fairfax County Parkway will be shifted to a new roadway along the outside of the interstate on or about Saturday night. Crews must close the interstate to implement this shift. The I-66 West ramps to and from Route 50, and the ramps from I-66 West to Monument Drive and Stringfellow Road will also be closed and detoured.
As part of this shift and related ramp work, vehicles traveling from Route 50 East to I-66 West will not be able to access the exit to Stringfellow Road from 11 p.m., Thursday through 6 a.m., Sunday.
From Wednesday night through Friday night, I-66 East and West approaching Route 50 will be reduced to a single travel lane in each direction for about one mile. Two-way traffic will run on I-66 West. This will allow crews to safely prepare the old concrete bridge deck for demolition.
As always, all work is weather dependent and subject to change. Stay tuned to WTOP and traffic on the 8s for the latest. And to be a part of the process, call the Traffic Center 24/7 with information on changes at 866-304-WTOP.
Maryland
There was new Purple Line construction implemented this week in Riverdale. Crews began underground utility relocation along MD 410/Riverdale Road between 58th Street and MD 410/Veterans Parkway. This permits the closure of lanes daily as needed through completion. You can also check the earlier link for any completions or ongoing projects.
In Prince George’s County, the new resurfacing project continues nightly on the Capital Beltway I-95/I-495 between MD 5/Branch Avenue and MD 414/St. Barnabas Road. There will be continuous overnight multiple lane closures, from Sunday through Thursday, scheduled through the end of the month. The Beltway between Suitland Road and MD 4/Pennsylvania Avenue continues to have off-peak lane closures for the ongoing bridge rehabilitation project as well.
Metro
There will be service adjustments for all lines this weekend due to scheduled track work and construction. Metro will operate on its new weekend extended service schedule, which is Saturday from 7 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from 8 a.m. to midnight, with trains servicing 87 of 91 stations.
Due to the summer shutdown on the Green and Yellow Lines for the Platform Improvement Project, the West Hyattsville, Prince George’s Plaza, College Park-U of Md and the Greenbelt stations remain closed with free shuttle service.
On the Red Line through August, trains are continually single tracking between Dupont Circle and Van Ness for a Tunnel Ventilation Improvement Project. With scheduled maintenance on the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines, trains will be single tracking between Eastern Market and Stadium Armory.
Weekend service summary:
Red: Single tracking between Van Ness and Dupont Circle.
Blue and Orange Line: Single tracking between Eastern Market and Stadium Armory.
Silver Line: Trains operate between Wiehle-Reston and Federal Center SW only.
Yellow Line: Due to the summer Platform Improvement Project:
- Trains operate between Huntington and Mt Vernon Sq only;
- Travelers to stations north of Mt Vernon Sq should transfer to the Green Line;
- Single tracking between National Airport and Braddock Rd (trains every 24 minutes).
Green Line:
Due to the summer Platform Improvement Project:
- Trains operate between Branch Ave and Fort Totten only;
- West Hyattsville, Prince George’s Plaza, College Park-U of Md and Greenbelt stations closed.
Free shuttle buses replace trains as follows:
- Limited stop service between Greenbelt, College Park- U of Md and Fort Totten;
- Limited stop service between Prince George’s Plaza, West Hyattsville and Fort Totten;
- Local service between Greenbelt, College Park- U of Md Prince George’s Plaza and West Hyattsville.
For your safety and the safety of others, customers are required to wear cloth face coverings or masks while traveling on Metro.
