Part of Va. I-95 to Close for 2 Weekends
The Associated Press
Monday, August 11, 2003; 2:47 PM
SPRINGFIELD, Va. - Drivers on one of the busiest highways in the eastern United States will be sent on a long detour so crews high above can install components of a new bridge.
Virginia officials said Monday that closing northbound I-95 south of Washington, D.C., for 14 hours or more the next two weekends should minimize safety risks. Cars and trucks will make a seven-mile detour.
The work is part of a $676 million effort to modernize what area commuters call the "Mixing Bowl." Each day about 430,000 vehicles pass through the junction serving Interstates 95, 395 and 495, including part of the Capital Beltway.
On Aug. 16-17 and Aug. 23-24, crews are expected to hoist 100-ton, football field size steel girders about 100 feet. Securing them above the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Fairfax County, Va., will require about 290 bolt connections per beam.
From 8 p.m. Saturday through 10 a.m. Sunday, plans call for rerouting northbound traffic from I-95 and I-395 onto eastbound I-495. Drivers will be directed to the next exit, then onto local streets, before being sent onto westbound I-495 to double back. The detour could add 45 minutes or more to a trip.
The eight-year Virginia Department of Transportation project is scheduled for completion in 2007.
The Associated Press
Monday, August 11, 2003; 2:47 PM
SPRINGFIELD, Va. - Drivers on one of the busiest highways in the eastern United States will be sent on a long detour so crews high above can install components of a new bridge.
Virginia officials said Monday that closing northbound I-95 south of Washington, D.C., for 14 hours or more the next two weekends should minimize safety risks. Cars and trucks will make a seven-mile detour.
The work is part of a $676 million effort to modernize what area commuters call the "Mixing Bowl." Each day about 430,000 vehicles pass through the junction serving Interstates 95, 395 and 495, including part of the Capital Beltway.
On Aug. 16-17 and Aug. 23-24, crews are expected to hoist 100-ton, football field size steel girders about 100 feet. Securing them above the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Fairfax County, Va., will require about 290 bolt connections per beam.
From 8 p.m. Saturday through 10 a.m. Sunday, plans call for rerouting northbound traffic from I-95 and I-395 onto eastbound I-495. Drivers will be directed to the next exit, then onto local streets, before being sent onto westbound I-495 to double back. The detour could add 45 minutes or more to a trip.
The eight-year Virginia Department of Transportation project is scheduled for completion in 2007.
