Outer Loop Lane THRU Lanes Showing Major Benefit This Week          
          
ALEXANDRIA, VA--The addition of two additional lanes along the Inner Loop (Interstate 95/495 South) of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge corridor will provide future relief to motorists commuting into Virginia, but will come with major traffic impacts over the weekend of December 12. Moving traffic onto the THRU lanes will require reducing the Capital Beltway from west of Branch Avenue (MD 5) to a single lane through to west of Telegraph Road for most of the weekend, a distance of approximately nine miles. Motorists are urged to use alternate routes around the Beltway during the upcoming weekend as forecasted delays may extend to three hours.           
          
The work is much more extensive – and time consuming – than that which took place last weekend to open the Outer Loop THRU lanes and includes paving, line eradication and restriping. The job will add two THRU lanes to the current three lane configuration on the Inner Loop; split traffic into THRU and LOCAL lanes that will improve traffic flow and safety by reducing merging/exiting conflicts and decreasing multiple-lane shifts. Additionally, new ramps to the Inner Loop THRU will open this weekend providing access from MD 210 North and U.S. Route 1 North and South.          
          
Early indications are that last weekend’s opening of THRU lanes on the Outer Loop THRU lanes is bringing major benefits to the traveling public this week. The chronic two-to-three-mile backup that has plagued commuters for more than a decade has not appeared during Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings’ commutes.           
          
Details of this weekend’s activities are as follows:           
          
Friday, Dec. 12, 9:00 p.m.-Sunday, Dec. 14, 12:00 noon: Inner Loop (I-95/495 South) lanes will be reduced from four lanes to one from west of MD 5 to west of Telegraph Road.           
          
Ø Ramps to the Inner Loop (I-95/495 South) from I-295 South, National Harbor and Telegraph Road (North) will be closed (Note: Motorists leaving National Harbor after Cirque du Soleil and other activities will be able to access ramps until 11:00 p.m.)          
          
Ø Ramps from the Inner Loop (I-95/495 South) to National Harbor, Church Street, U.S. Route 1 (North and South) in Alexandria will be closed          
          
Ø Maps of detours are available on www.wilsonbridge.com          
          
          
Should sustained heavy rains, snow or freezing weather be forecasted, the work will be rescheduled to the weekend of Dec. 19.           
          
Off-roadway work will continue on the THRU lanes for several months; however, and additional ramps to and from the THRU lanes will open in Spring 2009. In addition, construction at the Telegraph Road Interchange will continue to pinch traffic down to three lanes in each direction through the next few years.           
          
To help motorists navigate these changes, an interactive “Lane Decider” tool is available on www.wilsonbridge.com. Drivers can enter origin and destination points, and the Lane Decider will inform them whether to use THRU or LOCAL lanes. The Lane Decider also provides detailed maps of the different lane options and interchange modifications.          
          
          
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The Wilson Bridge Project is jointly sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Maryland State Highway Administration and the District of Columbia Department of Transportation.