WASHINGTON — Several lanes and ramps on the Capital Beltway will be closed for construction starting at 10 p.m. Thursday. All work is expected to be completed by 5 a.m. the following morning.
The affected areas include the Beltway Outer Loop (Routes I-95/495 North) and Inner Loop (Routes I-95/495 South), which will be narrowed to one lane. Both ramps from Telegraph Road to the Inner Loop (Routes I-95/495 South) will be closed, as well as the ramps from U.S. Route 1 to the Inner Loop through lanes and the ramp from Telegraph Road South to the Outer Loop (Route I-95/495).
Transit officials encouraged motorists to consider alternate routes to avoid congestion.
“We’re really telling folks that they should just avoid the area,” said Dara Ward, a spokeswoman for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project. “It would behoove them to do so.”
Instead of taking the ramp from Telegraph Road South to the Outer Loop, motorists are advised to take Telegraph Road South to Huntington Avenue East to U.S. Route 1 and reconnect with the Beltway Outer Loop. Motorists hoping to take the ramps from Telegraph Road to the Inner Loop are advised to take Eisenhower Avenue West to reconnect with the Inner Loop at the Eisenhower Avenue Connector. Motorists planning to take the ramps from U.S. Route 1 to the Inner Loop will be redirected to the Inner Loop local lanes.
Ms. Ward said the closure is more likely to affect travelers than locals. Construction for the Eisenhower Valley Access Ramps project, she said, is planned to take place at times convenient for the majority of the population.
“We always try to do it with the least amount of impact to motorists,” she said.
The Eisenhower Valley Access Ramps project is a portion of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project, which has been under way for the past decade and is scheduled to be completed in 2013.
Ms. Ward said it’s difficult to tell whether the goals in place will be met.
“It’s still a bit too early to tell, but we’re always trying to get things done on time.”
• Kathryn Watson can be reached at kwatson@washingtontimes.com.
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