Just wanted to warn folks driving through the DC area who maybe using the 495 Beltway this weekend
FAIRFAX, Va. - You may want to steer clear of the Beltway this weekend.
Part of the Outer Loop will be closed this weekend while steel beams are hoisted for the continuing work on the Springfield Interchange. From 8 p.m. Saturday until 10 a.m. Sunday, drivers who pass the Braddock Road exit will find the road narrowing from four lanes to two.
Once they make it to the Mixing Bowl, they will be forced onto southbound Interstate 95, where the 10-mile detour begins.
Out-of-towners might want to consider following more savvy residents.
"Local people in the area who know the different routes in and around - they can take whatever route they want," said Virginia Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Titunik.
"If they're coming from Tysons (Corner) and they want to go into D.C., they may want to take (Interstate) 66. They may want to get off at Little River Turnpike, take it up to Duke Street and get back on (Interstate) 395.
He said VDOT sets up one primary detour which can accommodate large trucks, as well as visitors who would get lost on local roads.
That detour will give take them five miles south down I-95 to the Fairfax County Parkway, where they will exit, then get onto northbound I-95 to make the five mile return trip to the Mixing Bowl. From that direction they can get back onto the Beltway's Outer Loop toward the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and Maryland, or onto I-395 toward Washington.
All of this is to move the beams for a new bridge which will become part of the massive revamp of the Springfield Interchange that began in March 1999. Back then, an average 390,000 vehicles passed through each day. Now, Titunik said the number is up to 430,000. So picking a time to close a road there comes down to when will it affect the smallest number of people.
"We do Saturday nights because it's the lowest volume night of the week," he said. He warned of possible two mile backups in the early hours of the closure, when about 4,000 vehicles an hour travel through. "Once 11 o'clock hits, through the early morning until the end, it's pretty quiet. It drops down to maybe 1,500 cars an hour."
Drivers who find an alternate route they like this weekend should commit it to memory. On April 9, there will be another Mixing Bowl closure, this time on I-95 south, though the HOV lanes will remain open.
Titunik said the Mixing Bowl work is on target to finish in late 2007.
FAIRFAX, Va. - You may want to steer clear of the Beltway this weekend.
Part of the Outer Loop will be closed this weekend while steel beams are hoisted for the continuing work on the Springfield Interchange. From 8 p.m. Saturday until 10 a.m. Sunday, drivers who pass the Braddock Road exit will find the road narrowing from four lanes to two.
Once they make it to the Mixing Bowl, they will be forced onto southbound Interstate 95, where the 10-mile detour begins.
Out-of-towners might want to consider following more savvy residents.
"Local people in the area who know the different routes in and around - they can take whatever route they want," said Virginia Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Titunik.
"If they're coming from Tysons (Corner) and they want to go into D.C., they may want to take (Interstate) 66. They may want to get off at Little River Turnpike, take it up to Duke Street and get back on (Interstate) 395.
He said VDOT sets up one primary detour which can accommodate large trucks, as well as visitors who would get lost on local roads.
That detour will give take them five miles south down I-95 to the Fairfax County Parkway, where they will exit, then get onto northbound I-95 to make the five mile return trip to the Mixing Bowl. From that direction they can get back onto the Beltway's Outer Loop toward the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and Maryland, or onto I-395 toward Washington.
All of this is to move the beams for a new bridge which will become part of the massive revamp of the Springfield Interchange that began in March 1999. Back then, an average 390,000 vehicles passed through each day. Now, Titunik said the number is up to 430,000. So picking a time to close a road there comes down to when will it affect the smallest number of people.
"We do Saturday nights because it's the lowest volume night of the week," he said. He warned of possible two mile backups in the early hours of the closure, when about 4,000 vehicles an hour travel through. "Once 11 o'clock hits, through the early morning until the end, it's pretty quiet. It drops down to maybe 1,500 cars an hour."
Drivers who find an alternate route they like this weekend should commit it to memory. On April 9, there will be another Mixing Bowl closure, this time on I-95 south, though the HOV lanes will remain open.
Titunik said the Mixing Bowl work is on target to finish in late 2007.
