One Big Honking Goodbye to Bridge

Weekend Jams Likely as Shift to New Wilson Span Is Completed

Outer loop traffic crosses the new span. The inner loop will be cut to one lane this weekend so workers can align the loop and span. (By Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post)

In a fitting final tribute to one of the most infamous traffic bottlenecks on the East Coast, one last dashboard-pounding jam is likely to occur this weekend at the old Woodrow Wilson Bridge as southbound motorists are shifted onto the new span.

The last driver to cross the decaying 45-year-old structure will probably do so Saturday, at the midpoint of a weekend of backups that will begin at 8 p.m. tomorrow when the inner loop of the Capital Beltway is reduced to a single lane so it can be realigned with the new bridge.

Outer loop traffic was switched onto the new span last month and, despite dire warnings, the work caused few delays. But project officials said the inner loop poses many more problems and ask drivers to take other routes to avoid hours-long jams.

Project spokesman John Undeland said outer loop delays were largely avoided because Interstate 95 drivers were diverted to the western side of the Beltway at Springfield. But a similar detour is not feasible for the inner loop because so many major roads connect to the eastern portion of the Beltway in Maryland, he said.

He also worried that drivers would suffer from "message fatigue" and not take the warnings of major backups seriously, especially given how few delays occurred last month.

"We don't want people to look at the last switchover in June and say, 'Hey, that was a piece of cake,' " Undeland said. "We have a different situation here. This is all going to rest on whether people hear and heed the message."

A similar set of weekend-long delays occurred last summer. The outer loop shift caused few problems then. But traffic backed up for as far as seven miles, and delays lasted as long as three hours when work was done on the inner loop.

To switch from old bridge to new, workers will redirect the Beltway and add as much as 36 inches of asphalt to align it with the new bridge.

To give them room to do so, the inner loop will be limited to a single lane for four miles, from the Route 210 interchange in Maryland to the Route 1 interchange in Virginia. Even after the switch is made Saturday, the highway will remain one lane while work continues.

The ramp from the southbound lanes of Interstate 295 to the inner loop will close tomorrow night, and the ramp from the inner loop to Route 1 will close Saturday.

Project officials hope to open all three inner loop lanes of the new bridge and both interchanges Sunday, but they said delays could last until 5 a.m. Monday.

Bridge officials advised drivers to take the western half of the Beltway, Route 301 through Maryland or Interstate 395 through the District to avoid bridge traffic.