WASHINGTON — There is no downtown event that displeases weekend drivers more than the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. The annual race encircles the city and blocks more major arteries than any other festival, parade or road race in the city.
The Saturday marathon and half-marathon begin at 7:30 a.m., but many of the road closures will go into place before dawn. The event is expected to draw up to 25,000 runners, as well as thousands of cheering spectators.
Constitution Avenue, Memorial Bridge and the Rock Creek Parkway will be closed for the first leg of the race. The barricades for the marathon’s first six miles, near the National Mall and Rock Creek Park, will be lifted by late morning. The closures in Northeast and Southeast Washington will likely remain through early afternoon.
The race course winds through the Woodley Park, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights neighborhoods before diving south toward Capitol Hill, keeping several major roads like Connecticut Avenue, 16th Street and Georgia Avenue shut down for the first half of the day.
The marathon and half-marathon routes diverge near Lincoln Park; the latter ends six blocks away at RFK Stadium. The full course proceeds into Southeast and is largely unchanged from last year, except for a few tweaks near Buzzard Point and Fort Dupont Park.
Morning and midday drivers who have destinations inside the ring of closures should plan ahead. There are several key routes that will remain open and unaffected by the race.
Saturday’s road closures, detailed
Alternate Driving Routes
The Key Bridge and Whitehurst Freeway toward K Street and M Street will be open to traffic throughout the morning between Georgetown and the West End. The M Street and K Street bridges pass over the race route below on Rock Creek Parkway.
Interstate 66 across the Roosevelt Bridge will be open to traffic as well. Inbound drivers will be able to exit onto the Potomac Freeway toward the E Street Expressway or Independence Avenue, but will not be allowed to proceed onto Constitution Avenue until about 10 a.m.
Constitution Avenue is expected to be open by late morning. Behind the Kennedy Center, traffic on the E Street Expressway will be affected by the route through about 9 a.m., so drivers headed downtown may be better off bypassing the E Street Expressway and bearing right off the end of the Potomac Freeway toward the Pennsylvania Avenue exit.
The Rock Creek Parkway will be closed through late morning but Massachusetts Avenue will carry traffic above the parkway by way of the Charles Glover Bridge. Since the Connecticut Avenue Taft Bridge and the Duke Ellington Bridge will be closed through mid-morning, Massachusetts Avenue through Embassy Row will be a good way to avoid the congestion around the race course.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle for drivers will be those headed north or south through Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights. Penetrating the race route, which runs down Columbia Road and Harvard Street, will be nearly impossible through mid-morning. As the bulk of the runners move beyond Mile 8, police may begin to allow some traffic across the race route on 14th Street, 16th Street and Georgia Avenue.
The barricades are expected to fully clear around 11:30 a.m. Morning drivers who normally take these north/south routes should consider performing an end-run around the center of the city to avoid the congestion and closures or postponing their trip until afternoon.
Aim high if you’re driving to or from Capitol Hill. Both New York Avenue and Rhode Island Avenue will be open above the marathon runners. Below these bridges, the inbound lanes of North Capitol Street will be closed. Outbound drivers may also find a helpful egress on I-395 and I-695; the Southeast/Southwest Freeway will be open its length.
East Capitol Street will be blocked through Capitol Hill, but drivers will be allowed to cross the route under police direction at official metering points at 4th Street, 6th Street, 8th Street and 10th Street.
The outbound lanes of South Capitol Street near Nationals Park, including the outbound side of the Frederick Douglass Bridge, will be closed through early afternoon. Drivers leaving Southeast Washington should use the 11th Street Bridge.
Pennsylvania Avenue will be closed east of the Anacostia River. From Barney Circle, the Sousa Bridge will be open, but all outbound traffic will be sent onto D.C. 295. This diversion usually creates congestion on D.C. 295 between Benning Road and the 11th Street Bridge, but the freeway will remain open to traffic both ways.
The finish line outside of RFK Stadium and Stadium-Armory will keep the inbound lanes of East Capitol Street closed through early to mid-afternoon. Upstream, Benning Road and New York Avenue are good alternatives.
Shamrock Fest is slated to open its doors as thousands of marathon runners are leaving the finish line. The inbound lanes of the East Capitol Street Bridge are expected to reopen around 1:45 p.m.
Mass Transit
Like previous years, Metrorail will open two hours early to accommodate the participants. Marathon runners should use Metro Center, Federal Triangle, Smithsonian or Archives stations to access the start line.
Red Line riders should expect delays through a work zone between Glenmont and Silver Spring where trains will share tracks. Apart from this work zone, trains are scheduled to run every 6 to 12 minutes on the Red Line on Saturday. All other rail lines are scheduled to run at normal weekend intervals.
Numerous downtown Metrobus routes will be blocked during the morning and midday hours. Some downtown buses will stop at the Metro station closest to the race route while other bus routes will detour around it.
Metro says significant delays are possible for riders on the following routes: 30N, 30S, 31, 32, 34, 36, 42, 52, 54, 64, 70, 74, 79, 80, 90, 92, 96, A42, A46, A48, B2, D4, D6, D8, G2, G8, H2, H4, L2, M6, P6, S2, S4, U5, U6, X2 and X8.
The District Department of Transportation says that D.C. Circulator will run modified service due to the road closures. The National Mall route will open after 10 a.m.
DDOT also says that the D.C. Streetcar will not operate during the race since the marathon route includes H Street NE. Streetcar service will began sometime after 1 p.m. when the race concludes.
Reaching the Race
Event organizers urge spectators to use Metrorail to access the starting line at Constitution Avenue and 14th Street NW. This year, the marathon has partnered with Parking Panda to allow runners and spectators to purchase guaranteed race day parking near the start line.
Dan Cruz, a spokesman for the D.C. Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, also suggests using rideshare services like Lyft. Cruz says this year there will be a clearly signed area for curbside pickups near the finish festival outside of RFK Stadium.
“Runners can look for a special Lyft boarding zone – an area to meet your Lyft driver following the race,” Cruz says. “Our partnership with Lyft is just one of the many improvements that we’re making for the Rock ‘n’ Roll D.C. Marathon.”
Cruz also says there will be more seating this year at the finish line.
“One of the most noticeable changes we’ve made for spectators is the additional bleachers in a seating area at the finish line … which is going to be a cool experience not only for spectators but also for participants who want to cross that finish line in spectacular fashion.”
Four Courts Four Miler
A separate race in Arlington, the Four Courts Four Miler, will take place at the same time as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. The race will block the northbound lanes of Route 110 between Crystal City and Courthouse. A stretch of Wilson Boulevard will also be blocked. The race begins at 9 a.m. The closures should be cleared by 11 a.m.
