Celebrating Mixing Bowl's Big Makeover

With the interchange's completion, VDOT will turn to unknotting some of Northern Virginia's growing bottlenecks, including the interchange of Interstate 66 and Route 29 in Gainesville and I-66 inside the Beltway.

VDOT's Cloyed said the Springfield project unfolded from the outside-in. First, approaches from the Beltway, I-95 and I-395 were rebuilt. Then it was a matter of tying them all together in the middle.

That turned out to be harder than anticipated. Problems with the primary contractor for the final phase, Archer Western Contractors Ltd., led to delays, conflicts and eventually the issuance of a formal default letter.

Negotiations and a management shake-up put the job back on track. VDOT offered incentives and allowed the contractor to make up hours on weekends and through additional weeknight closures, Cloyed said.

Today, Cloyed will be on the roof of the parking deck looking at his baby.

That other baby, Raina Cooper, is now a bright-eyed 8-year-old who lives with her family in a new house in Clinton. The Coopers frequently drive through the Mixing Bowl.

In the family room, Raina flashed a wide smile when asked her nickname.

"It's '95,' " she said, "because I was born on the Beltway."