There is a possibility of rain Saturday night, but for now the Virginia Department of Transportation is planning to close Interstate 66 for a bridge demolition. Meanwhile, in Maryland, Route 355 will need to close again to address flood damage.
Here’s what you need to know:
Roadwork
Virginia
With rain possible overnight Saturday, be sure to stay tuned to WTOP and traffic on the 8s for any last-minute changes. So far, several major work events are planned for the ever-changing Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project heading into this weekend.
On I-66 East, crews are currently paving between Nutley Street and Gallows Road, with lane closures planned all weekend, including just one lane open Friday and Saturday nights and three lanes (instead of four) open Saturday during the day and evening, weather permitting.
These paving closures will be followed by the shifting of lanes on I-66 East between Nutley Street and Gallows Road for new pavement on the right side (outer portion) of the roadway.
With this work, the ramps from Nutley Street North and South to I-66 East will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on both nights, with detours posted.
This is the schedule for work on I-66 East from Nutley Street to Gallows Road from Friday to Sunday, weather permitting:
- Beginning around 9 p.m. Friday, one lane will be closed.
- Around 10 p.m. Friday, two additional lanes will be closed on I-66 East approaching Nutley Street, reducing the interstate to a single travel lane.
- A second lane will reopen around 5 a.m. Saturday, followed by a third lane reopening by 8 a.m.
- During Saturday daytime and early evening hours (approximately 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.), one I-66 eastbound travel lane will remain closed, with three through-lanes open.
- Around 10 p.m. Saturday, I-66 East approaching Nutley Street will again be reduced to a single travel lane.
- A second lane will reopen around 6 a.m. Sunday.
- All lanes of I-66 East will reopen by 9 a.m. Sunday.
- The ramps from Nutley Street North and South to I-66 East will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
- Traffic in both directions will be directed to I-66 West for a U-turn.
This is one of many traffic shifts happening along I-66 East and West between Route 29 (Lee Highway) in Gainesville and Interstate 495 this year.
Traffic is being shifted to the new pavement on the outer portions of I-66 as construction advances for the future I-66 Express Lanes in the center of the roadway.
This week saw the shift of southbound Route 28 in Centreville to the new South Bridge over I-66 too. This means that heading into the weekend, crews will be closing I-66 overnight for the demolition of the old bridge.
During the nightly closures, demolition crews will remove portions of the Route 28 South Bridge that are over I-66 travel lanes.
The eastern and western portions of I-66 will close for multiple nights for the demolition. I-66 West will close at Route 28 Friday night, followed by closure of I-66 East at Route 29 (Lee Highway) Saturday night.
The I-66 West closures resume Sunday night and continue through next Friday night. Multiple I-66 ramps to and from Route 28 and Route 29 will also be closed during these working hours.
Here are the closures and detours that drivers should expect on Friday, Oct. 15, on I-66 West at Route 28, weather permitting:
- I-66 West will be closed at Route 28 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- All traffic will exit the interstate to the Braddock Road/Walney Road ramp, turn left at the traffic signal onto Braddock Road West and then follow signs to the left turn toward I-66 West.
- The ramp from I-66 West to Route 28 North will remain open.
- All lanes will reopen by 10 a.m. Saturday.
- The ramp from I-66 West to Route 28 South will be closed from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., traffic will be detoured further west to the exit for Route 29 Centreville for a U-turn.
- Beginning at 10 p.m., traffic will exit the interstate to the Braddock Road/Walney Road ramp for a U-turn.
- The ramp will reopen by 6 a.m.
- Braddock Road and Walney Road between Newton Patent Drive and Cabells Mill Road will be closed with no through-traffic or access to the ramps to I-66 or Route 28 between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
- Traffic will be detoured to Westfields Boulevard to reach Route 28 South, I-66 West and points on the opposite side of Route 28.
- The road will reopen by 6 a.m.
- The ramp from Route 28 North to Braddock Road/Walney Road will be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Traffic will be directed to continue further north to the Westfields Boulevard Interchange. Drivers traveling to Braddock Road will take the exit to westbound Westfields Boulevard, then continue to Braddock Road. Drivers traveling to Walney Road will take the exit to eastbound Westfields Boulevard, then turn right onto Walney Road.
- The ramp will reopen by 6 a.m.
Here are the closures and detours that drivers should expect on Saturday, Oct. 16, on I-66 East at Route 29 Centreville, weather permitting:
- I-66 East will be closed at Route 29 in Centreville from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
- All traffic will be directed to exit to Route 29, stay to the right to Route 29 North, continue north to the ramp for Route 28 North and follow signs to I-66 East.
- One lane of eastbound I-66 will reopen by 8 a.m.; three lanes will reopen by 9 a.m.
- All lanes will reopen by 2 p.m. Sunday.
- The spur ramp from I-66 East to Route 29 South will be closed from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
- Traffic will be directed to stay to the right to Route 29 North, then stay to the left and make a U-turn from the left turn lane at the Trinity Parkway/Centrewood Drive traffic signal onto Route 29 South.
- The ramp from I-66 East to Route 28 North will be closed from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
- Traffic will be directed to exit the interstate (before the Route 28 North exit) to Route 29, stay to the right to Route 29 North and then follow signs to Route 28 North.
- Two lanes on I-66 West from Stringfellow Road to Route 28 will be closed approaching Route 28 from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- All lanes will open by 6 a.m.
- The ramps from Route 29 North and South to I-66 East will be closed from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.
- Southbound Route 29 traffic will be directed further south to stay to the left and make a U-turn at O’Day Drive onto Route 29 North, then stay to the right to Route 28 North and follow signs to I-66 East.
- Northbound Route 29 traffic will be directed further north to Route 28 North and then follow signs to I-66 East.
- The ramp will reopen at 9 a.m.
Here are the closures and detours that drivers should expect on Sunday, Oct. 17, through Friday, Oct. 22, on I-66 West at Route 28, weather permitting:
- I-66 West will be closed at Route 28 from 11 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. each night.
- All traffic will exit the interstate to Route 28 North, continue north to the westbound Westfields Boulevard exit, stay to the right toward Route 28 South and then follow signs to I-66 West.
- The ramp to Braddock Road/Walney Road will remain open.
- All lanes will reopen by 4:30 a.m. Monday.
- The ramp from I-66 West to Route 28 South will be closed from 11 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. each night.
- Traffic will be directed to exit to Route 28 North, continue north to the westbound Westfields Boulevard exit and then stay to the right toward Route 28 South.
- The ramp will reopen by 4:30 a.m.
There will still be overnight lane and ramp closures along I-66 on both Friday and Saturday nights, as well as on the Beltway Outer Loop near I-66
During the next three weekends, weather permitting, the left lane of the southbound I-495 (Capital Beltway Outer Loop) will be closed over the Dulles Toll Road (Route 267) from 10 p.m. Fridays to 5 a.m. Mondays for bridge joint work.
The two left lanes of the southbound I-495 general purpose lanes are scheduled to be closed overnight as follows:
- 11 p.m. Fridays to 7 a.m. Saturdays
- 11 p.m. Saturdays to 7 a.m. Sundays
- 11 p.m. Sundays to 5 a.m. Mondays
At least two lanes of the southbound I-495 general purpose lanes will remain open at all times each weekend.
Be sure to stay tuned to WTOP traffic on the 8s for any updates or additional closures. To be part of the process, call the Traffic Center at WTOP, 24/7, at 866-304-WTOP.
Maryland
The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) will be making emergency repairs to drainage pipes, which were damaged in last week’s flooding, under MD 355 (Urbana Pike) at Bennett Creek in Frederick County this weekend.
Beginning 9 p.m. Friday, crews will close MD 355 in both directions between Thornapple Drive/Campus Drive and Doctor Perry Road/Big Woods Road. This work is expected to be completed by 5 a.m. Monday morning.
A detour will be in place along the following routes:
- Northbound MD 355 will use southbound MD 109 (Old Hundred Road) to northbound Interstate 270, then take eastbound MD 80 (Fingerboard Road) to access MD 355.
- Southbound MD 355 will use westbound MD 80 (Fingerboard Road) to southbound I-270, then take northbound MD 109 to access MD 355.
There will be electronic signs, cones and barrels to guide motorists through the work.
The Purple Line construction continues to change, with updates posted regularly on the project’s website.
Crews are now working on westbound MD 450 (Annapolis Road) between 76th Ave. and the Glenridge Shopping Center entrance for utility relocations daily, between 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather permitting.
There is also new project set up in Howard County on the Watersville Road bridge over Interstate 70, located between the MD 94 (Woodbine Road) exit and the MD 27 (Ridge Road) exit.
Crews are working overnight Sunday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on a project that requires scaffolding, which now poses a height restriction for vehicles traveling under the Watersville Road bridge, with the bridge now temporarily reduced to 14 and a half feet as work continues.
In other ongoing projects, motorists in Prince George’s County should expect off-peak paving with lane closures on MD 5/Branch Avenue from the D.C. line to Curtis Drive. This continues through the weekend from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., with intermittent single to multiple lanes closed.
Off-peak work on the Maryland side of the Beltway in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties continues between Arena Drive and Richie Marlboro Road through the fall, and on both sides of the Beltway near the Suitland Parkway. Motorists can expect lane reductions and ongoing traffic barrels.
Milling and paving on the Beltway before and after Georgia Ave. is a work in progress during off-peak times as well. Motorists can expect rough and uneven pavement to reduce speeds through that stretch of roadway in both directions.
In Newburg, US-301 southbound on the approach to the Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial/Sen. Thomas “Mac” Middleton Bridge has a new travel pattern, which will remain in place through the fall to implement new cashless tolling gantry and signage. More details can be found here.
DC
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has plans for roadways, lanes and ramps because of construction associated with the ongoing Interstate 295/DC 295 Corridor Project this weekend.
With the scheduled DC United game at Audi Field, nighttime lane closures will not occur on Saturday after 10:30 p.m.
Daily closures between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., along with nightly closures between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., can be expected near these locations, weather permitting:
- Single to multiple land closures are planned on I-295 between Exit 1 (Laboratory Road/U.S. Naval Research Lab) and Interstate 695.
- Single to multiple land closures are planned on South Capitol Street SE/SW between Firth Sterling Avenue SE and N Street SE.
- Single to multiple land closures are planned on Suitland Parkway SE between the Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE overpass and South Capitol Street SE.
More information on this project can be found here.
Metro
On the Red Line, the planned shutdown continues between Twinbrook and Shady Grove for the Rockville Canopy Replacement Project, which closes the Rockville and Shady Grove stations through Dec. 4. Alternate modes of transportation can be found on the WMATA website.
Maintenance will take place on the Yellow Line this weekend that will require single tracking between L’Enfant Plaza and Pentagon City.
Metro will operate on its normal weekend schedule, 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. to midnight on Sunday, serving 89 of 91 stations with normal weekend frequencies on the Red, Blue, Orange, Silver and Green lines.
Weekend service summary:
Red Line:
- Shady Grove and Rockville stations closed
- Buses replace trains with free shuttle service between Shady Grove, Rockville and Twinbrook
- Trains operate between Twinbrook and Glenmont only
Yellow Line: Single tracking between L’Enfant Plaza and Pentagon City.
Blue, Orange, Silver and Green Lines: Normal Service.
Under federal law and for your safety and the safety of others, customers are required to wear cloth face coverings or masks while traveling on Metro.
