There are two planned shutdowns for Metro this weekend and three locations of Interstate 66 will see full stops. There is still Beltway and bridge work in Maryland, plus paving and road projects in the District. Here’s a look at a few things planned for this weekend, weather permitting.
Here’s what you need to know if you’re traveling in the D.C. region this weekend.
Roadwork
Virginia
As to be expected, the continual work on the I-66 Transforms Outside the Beltway Project will see more changes and reconfiguring into this weekend.
Starting in Centreville, this week has seen much focus on the bridge beam installation project at Route 28 and I-66, which is scheduled to continue into this weekend, weather permitting. There is a chance for storms overnight Saturday, so be sure to stay tuned to traffic on the 8s for the latest.
Most of this work has been taking place since the middle of the week, but here’s a recap of what will be planned as far as lane and ramp closures through this weekend.
There continues to be full closures and detours planned for I-66 at Route 28, which has been the case all week. VDOT said that’s the plan through overnight Friday from between approximately 9 p.m. and 4:30 a.m.
During this time all westbound I-66 traffic will be diverted to Route 28 north toward Westfields Boulevard to follow the posted detour signs for a U-turn back to I-66 West.
This reconstruction is to improve traffic flow on I-66 and Route 28 and provide access to and from the future I-66 Express Lanes. The I-66 Outside the Beltway Express Lanes, which span from Interstate 495 to Route 29 in Gainesville, are expected to open in December 2022.
There will be ramp changes for the Route 28/I-66 Interchange work as well. As to be expected with this work, the ramp from I-66 East to northbound Route 28 will be closed. On Route 28 north between I-66 and Walney Road there will be two lanes closed through 5 a.m. Saturday morning.
On I-66 East from Route 29 through Route 28 there will be three lanes closed both Friday and Saturday nights from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. as part of the bridge beam work. This closure will allow crews to implement a new traffic shift.
The work at Route 29 and I-66 in Centreville is scheduled to continue this weekend too. Crews will close the ramp from Route 29 northbound to I-66 West continuously, for the entire weekend beginning Friday at 10 p.m. through 5 a.m. Monday.
All traffic will be detoured to the Trinity Parkway/Machen Road interchange to make a U-turn. The ramps from Route 29 to I-66 East will be closed and detoured on Saturday night between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. Sunday as well.
Moving farther west on I-66, there is survey and paving work planned overnight Friday from 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. On westbound I-66 from Route 29 toward Manassas there will be 3 lanes closed. And eastbound I-66 from the Prince William Parkway through Route 29 in Centreville it will be the same.
In Fairfax, the work remains much the same. The overnight bridge demolition at the Route 50/I-66 interchange will continue through this weekend.
On I-66 westbound at Route 50, all lanes are closed and diverted to Route 50 West for a U-turn at the next intersection, West Ox Road. This overnight work is scheduled Friday and Saturday between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
During this time, the ramp from I-66 West to Route 50 East and the ramp from Route 50 West to I-66 West will both be closed and detoured too.
As we move eastward, there is still interchange work at Route 123, which will have lanes closed overnight Friday. The ramps from Route 123 to I-66 East will be closed and detoured from midnight through 4 a.m. Saturday.
And on Route 123 north between Eaton Place and I-66 there will only be a single lane of travel available as crews implement a new traffic shift between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.
There are two other locations on I-66 where crews will be planning a complete stop overnight for overhead bridge work. On I-66 East between Route 123 and Nutley Street there will be three lanes closed overnight Friday and Saturday between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
During this time, motorists should be advised there could be random periodic stops of up to 20 minutes at a time. And the ramps from Nutley Street to I-66 East will remain closed through 7 a.m.
Moving closer to the Beltway, work is planned in both directions of I-66 overnight Friday between about 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. From Nutley Street to Gallows Road, there is planned utility work with both directions seeing 3 lanes closed and stops of up to 20 minutes at a time.
Eastbound I-66 from Gallows Road toward the Beltway the three-lane closure extends for equipment mobilization as well.
At the Beltway, the Express Lanes work will continue to have ramp changes overnight from 10 p.m. through 5 a.m. Saturday. The ramps from I-66 East to I-495 Express South and from I-495 Express Lanes north to I-66 West will both be closed and detoured via overhead signage.
As always, all work scheduled is weather dependent and subject to change, be sure to stay tuned to WTOP traffic on the 8s for the latest. And call the 24/7 Traffic Center at 866-304-WTOP to help with and changes or updates and be part of the team.
Maryland
The Purple Line Metro work saw a few changes begin this week along Piney Branch Road and University Boulevard in Silver Spring. The plan here is for utility relocations at this intersection, weather permitting, during off peak times.
This does include weekends as necessary. There will be lane and road closures as necessary to complete the task that was originally planned for July.
There are now temporary lane closures on Piney Branch Road between Arliss Street and University Boulevard through the end of August. This could include a flagging operation with traffic alternating by under control as needed.
Barron Street will be closed between Piney Branch Road and Gilbert Street through the end of August too. Expect travel to be controlled during these work times by flaggers.
In Frederick, for the second straight weekend, the MD-28 Dickerson Road bridge over the Monocacy River will be closed and detoured for bridge replacement. The bridge will be closed by 10 p.m. Friday and continue to be detoured through 5 a.m. Monday morning.
All other times during this project, travel is controlled by flaggers. The crew here continue to work by a weather-permitting standard and another full closure is planned for next weekend.
Through Baltimore, the high impact work on the Interstate 895 Harbor Tunnel Thruway is continuing to have planned travel closures through the summer as well.
Between the Harbor Tunnel and Holabird Avenue there will be continuous off-peak lane and ramp closures implemented.
In Anne Arundel County, overnight patching continues on MD-450 between US-50 and the Naval Academy Bridge, with lane closures and traffic control Sunday through Thursday between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.
In Montgomery County, both sides of I-495 Capital Beltway still has intermittent off-peak lane closures between Georgia and Connecticut avenues for the ongoing bridge rehabilitation project.
This work does see full stops on Sunday through Thursday nights between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., be sure to stay alert.
In Prince George’s County, crews are now resurfacing 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 Sundays through Thursday.
Plus, the Beltway between Suitland Road and MD-4 Pennsylvania Avenue continues to have off-peak lane closures for the ongoing bridge rehabilitation project.
DC
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) continues improving and restoring roadways through the Citywide Pavement Restoration Project. Scheduled lane closures and paving over the next few weeks at set for the following locations:
In Northwest:
- 9th Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and F Street
- Potomac Street between Water Street and Grace Street
- Western Avenue between Westmoreland Circle and 49th Street
In a look ahead, DDOT has planned temporarily lane closures for the following roadways for bridge and tunnel inspections beginning next week, weather permitting, at these locations too:
Interstate 295 Southbound over 11th Street, Interstate 695 Connector Ramps and Good Hope Road, a left lane closure of I-295 Southbound over 11th Street, I-695 Connector Ramps and Good Hope Road between of 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
On northbound 11th Street SE/Martin Luther King Ave SE over Anacostia River and Anacostia Drive, lane closures are planned over Anacostia River and Anacostia Drive during the overnight hours.
There was work, which continues on the ramp from northbound Kenilworth Ave at Polk Street NE to northbound DC-295, weather permitting.
Traffic was being detoured to the next exit north of Eastern Avenue to access northbound DC-295 by variable message boards near Burroughs Avenue.
DDOT plans lane closures into the weekend at the following locations as well:
- I-295 northbound between Nannie Helen Ave NE and Benning Road NE starting at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday.
- I-295 northbound between Nannie Helen Ave NE and Benning Road NE starting at 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
There continues to be the off-peak lane closures along I-295 between Laboratory Road (exit 1) and I-695/Southeast Freeway/11th Street Bridge. This work is 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.
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.
And, as of Monday continuing through Saturday, there is scheduled to be a single lane closures on I-295 northbound between Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue and Benning Road Northeast.
Metro
All lines will see service adjustments with continued work and scheduled maintenance again, this weekend. The extended service schedule continues with Saturday operations from 7 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from 8 a.m. to midnight. Trains will service 85 of 91 stations.
The Red Line work continues between Dupont Circle and Van Ness for a Tunnel Ventilation Improvement Project, which is scheduled through August.
This weekend sees an additional Red Line shutdown of the Cleveland Park and Woodley Park stations. With maintenance on the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines, there will be single tracking required through this weekend.
The summer shutdown continues on the Green and Yellow Lines for the Platform Improvement Project, which closes the West Hyattsville, Prince George’s Plaza, College Park-U of Md. and the Greenbelt stations too.
Information on free shuttle service can be found here.
Weekend service summary:
- Red: Buses replace trains between Van Ness and Dupont Circle.
- Woodley Park and Cleveland Park stations closed.
- Free shuttle buses provided.
- Trains run in two segments — Shady Grove to Van Ness and Dupont Circle to Glenmont.
- 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 Square only.
- Travelers to stations north of Mt. Vernon Square should transfer to the Green Line.
- Single tracking between National Airport and Braddock Rd.
- Green Line: Due to the summer Platform Improvement Project:
- Trains operate between Branch Ave and Ft 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. & Fort Totten.
- Limited stop service between Prince George’s Plaza, West Hyattsville & Fort Totten.
- Local service between Greenbelt, College Park-U of Md. Prince George’s Plaza & West Hyattsville.
