HOT Lanes' Next Step

The HOT lanes project has advanced to another interchange on the Virginia portion of the Capital Beltway. Demolition of the Gallows Road Bridge above the Beltway is about to begin, and drivers will experience the effects for a few years. Here's a look at what's going on at Gallows Road and an overview.

Gallows Road Bridge: The Demolition

The bridge consists of two overpasses. The overpass that has carried eastbound traffic will be demolished first.

Eastbound traffic will be shifted to the side that has been used for westbound traffic. The shift is scheduled to begin this week. Drivers will find there are two lanes of traffic in each direction. Making room for all the lanes required removing the median and the sidewalk.

Also, drivers will no longer be able to turn left from eastbound Gallows Road to head north on the Beltway's inner loop toward Tysons Corner and the American Legion Bridge. And there will be a different pattern on the ramp from the inner loop to Gallows Road. Instead of three ramp lanes, drivers will find two: a left turn lane and a shared left and right turn lane.

-- Detour: Say you're coming from nearby Inova Fairfax Hospital and you want to head north on the Beltway. Before the project, you could get onto Gallows Road eastbound and made a left at the overpass onto the inner loop.

For the next three years of construction, you'll have to make a left coming out of the hospital onto Gallows Road and drive north about a mile to Arlington Boulevard (Route 50), where you can enter the Beltway heading north. This detour probably will add 10 minutes to your trip in the morning rush and 10 to 15 minutes during the evening rush.

-- Schedule: It will take about six weeks to take down the old eastbound bridge. Demolition work will occur at night.

From 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. weeknights, two right lanes on either side of the Beltway below will be closed. The new eastbound bridge will be done in about a year. Then all eastbound traffic will shift back to the new eastbound bridge as demolition gets underway on the other side.

-- Why: The Beltway is being widened by two lanes on each side. That means the Gallows Road overpass, and all the other bridges over the highway, must also be widened and reconfigured to accommodate the new design. Once the new lanes are built, four inner lanes -- two on each loop -- will be converted to High Occupancy Toll lanes, meaning they will be free for carpoolers and buses. Other drivers will pay a toll. The lanes are scheduled to open in 2013.

Around the Beltway

Many drivers don't think of the western side of the Beltway as a big loop around Washington. To them, it's simply a big road that links two other roads they take to get to and from work. They are likely to see the effects of HOT lane construction several times in one trip.

-- Double Jeopardy: A commuter might get on the Beltway at Gallows Road, where the interchange is being rebuilt, drive 4.3 miles north to Tysons Corner, encountering another portion of the HOT lanes interchange work, then head west on Route 7, passing through the lane shifts required for construction of the new Metrorail line through Tysons.

-- Megaprojects: Recognizing that many drivers will share this experience over the next few years, the Virginia Department of Transportation has created a Megaprojects office to publicize information about the various large-scale construction programs in Northern Virginia.

The office is a collection point for information about lane closures and commuting alternatives, such as carpooling, telecommuting and transit. There's more information about the HOT lanes construction, the Metrorail project, the Interstate 95 widening and the Telegraph Road interchange project, among other things, at http://www.VAmegaprojects.com.