Travelers on Interstate 95 South – the Inner Loop of the Capital Beltway – should prepare for heavy traffic from 11 p.m. until 8 a.m. Friday, Nov. 4-Wednesday, Nov. 9, near the Wilson Bridge and Route 1 Interchange in Virginia, as crews hoist five 80-foot-long steel beams across the Inner Loop lanes. The beams will support a new ramp from southbound Route 1 to the Beltway’s Outer Loop toward Maryland.
Traffic impact on the Inner Loop will extend beyond Route 1 to the Springfield Interchange Saturday, Nov. 5 and Sunday, Nov. 6 as the Springfield Interchange Project also is planning overnight closures and detours on the Inner Loop.
The Wilson Bridge Project will reduce the Inner Loop to one lane, from the Wilson Bridge until just past the Route 1 Interchange, and close the ramp from southbound Route 1 to I-95 North. Drivers are advised that during these work hours, the remaining one lane of Beltway traffic will be stopped periodically for 20-30 minute intervals. In addition, the ramps from Route 1 North and South to the Inner Loop, as well as the access road located to the north of the Inner Loop, will be closed for as long as 57 hours, beginning at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4, until as late as 5 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 7.
Ramp traffic will be detoured south on Route 1 to Huntington Avenue to Telegraph Road and then back to the Inner Loop. The ramps and access road again will be closed between 8 p.m. until 5 a.m., on Monday, Nov. 7 and Tuesday, Nov. 8. No closures are planned on Sunday night, Nov. 6, because of the large volume of traffic expected to attend the Washington Redskins home game.
Travelers are urged to avoid the Inner Loop – beginning at the Wilson Bridge through the Springfield Interchange – and choose an alternate route. Drivers should consider the Beltway in the direction of the American Legion Bridge or I-395 through Washington, D.C., as an alternative route. Long-distance drivers also may consider bypassing the Washington, D.C., area altogether by accessing southbound Route 301 near Baltimore, which then ties back in with I-95 near Richmond. This detour is nearly equal in mileage as taking I-95 across the Wilson Bridge.
Click on www.springfieldinterchange.com or call 877-959-5222 for more information on the Springfield Interchange. Motorists can find the latest Wilson Bridge Project traffic information by calling 877-463-6992 or by going to www.wilsonbridge.com.
