By Alice Reid
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 7, 1998; Page B08

Northern Virginians, already faced with commute-slowing road work on Interstate 95 for the next decade, can expect added traffic disruptions closer to Washington as federal highway engineers tackle road projects in the Rosslyn area in the next 18 months.

On Oct. 13, crews will start $6.7 million in improvements on the George Washington Memorial Parkway on the Potomac shoreline across from Georgetown.

The four-part project will include reconstruction of the northbound lanes of the parkway between Key Bridge and Spout Run, and repairs to two ramps from the southbound parkway to the Key and Roosevelt bridges. Early next year, work at the Rosslyn end of Key Bridge will begin in an attempt to make that crowded and accident-prone spot safer and easier for drivers to navigate.

Despite the promise of improvements, many who commute through the area see the project as another giant headache to add to an already stressful trip to work.

"My God, I'll probably have to take the subway," said Benson Adams, 56, a Department of Defense official who drives to work in Rosslyn from Bethesda.

Even though workers promise to keep all travel lanes open during morning and evening rush hours, that's little consolation to Adams, who dreads the narrowed lanes and orange construction barrels.

"It's just like trying to put a whole lot of water through a very small pipe," he said.

"Any time you do road work in an area, it slows down traffic," said Joan Morris, spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation, adding that state highway officials have been asked to meet later this week with project engineers to discuss potential traffic problems.

Motorists in the Washington region are likely to see even more delays caused by road work in the next few years as Maryland, Virginia and the District spend millions of dollars in added federal funding made available in the six-year, $218 billion highway bill.

Federal highway engineers promise that by the spring of 2000, improvements will make the area more convenient and safer.

The northbound ramp from Rosslyn onto the parkway will be extended all the way to Spout Run, adding a fourth lane to the roadway and allowing a two-lane exit to Spout Run, highway officials said. That three-quarter mile of parkway, which carries more than 33,000 cars a day, also will get a new stone barrier and retaining wall on the river shoreline.

The ramp from the southbound parkway to the Key Bridge -- used by 8,400 cars a day -- will lose its tight turn and will provide access only to Key Bridge. Access from the parkway to Rosslyn will be by a reconfigured Roosevelt Bridge exit, which will include an access road to westbound Route 50.

Starting in spring, lanes at the Rosslyn end of Key Bridge will be resurfaced between the parkway and Lee Highway.

During construction, some lanes will be closed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, and every night from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.

Ramps from the southbound parkway to the Key and Roosevelt bridges may be closed from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. Sunday through Thursday.

The Federal Highway Administration, which is responsible for roads such as the parkway that are on federal property, is doing the work.

GW Parkway Scheduled for Repairs

Road crews will begin a $6.7 million improvement plan for the George Washington Memorial Parkway on Oct. 13. What the four-part project will entail:

Reconstruction of northbound lanes of parkway between Key Bridge and Spout Run

Repairs to ramp to Key Bridge and improvements to nearby streets

Reconstruction of ramp to the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge and construction of a connector road to Rte. 50