Archive: Weekend Work
Travel Obstacles This Weekend
If you're trying to get around Washington this weekend, you'll find some obstacles in your path. Douglass Bridge: The outbound lanes of the South Capitol Street bridge will close tonight after the rush period and won't reopen till just before the afternoon rush on Monday. The main detour is the 11th Street Bridge. This is the last of the weekend closures before the July-August shutdown of the entire bridge. Use this link to get a full description from the District Department of Transportation . Race For the Cure: By all means, attend this great event on Saturday morning, but watch out for the numerous street closures and parking bans in the area along the Mall. You can see a really long list of the effected streets here. Take Metro. The rail system is going to open at 5 a.m. Saturday, two hours earlier than normal. You can read a full...
By Robert Thomson | June 1, 2007; 02:14 PM ET | Comments (7)
Weekend Traffic,Transit Advisories
One of the things I'm learning during this first spring since becoming "Dr. Gridlock" is how rapid and extensive is the start of the construction season on our highways and streets. Here are a few of the big ones that might affect your travel plans this weekend and into next week. Wilson Bridge This is the big one for the weekend: Saturday and Sunday, all lanes on Capital Beltway at the Route 210 interchange in Prince George's County will be closed overnight so work crews can hoist up the steel beams that will support the second half of the new overpass, which is scheduled to open this fall. The shutdown will occur from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. Saturday night and from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday night. If you have to be out in this, watch for these detours: -- I-95 North travelers will be detoured onto the...
By Robert Thomson | April 27, 2007; 03:26 PM ET | Comments (4)
Weekend Travel Tips -- and Beyond
The warmer weather means that the region's transportation agencies are pumping out advisories for drivers. Many projects underway this weekend could slow down your travels. Plus, there's some significant action on the roads next week. Here are some highlights. Springfield Interchange: I-395 North between the Commerce Street Bridge and the Capital Beltway will be shut from 9 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday to allow crews to remove the northbound left shift that has been in place for more than eight months. That was for the construction of two I-395 North bridges over the Beltway's inner loop. I-395 North will be closed again from 8 p.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday so crews can complete other work in the area. Watch for detours. Douglass Bridge: Inbound lanes of South Capitol Street were closed at 10 a.m. Friday for bridge rehabilitation work this weekend but will reopen for the Monday morning...
By Robert Thomson | April 20, 2007; 12:01 PM ET | Comments (4)
Big Weekend Downtown
As you make your travel plans for the weekend, watch in for some nasty weather that will roll in on Saturday and linger through Sunday. Here are some things you should know about getting around. Cherry Blossom Parade: The two-week long festival climaxes with the parade, beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday at Constitution Avenue and 7th Street and heading west along Constitution to 17th Street. Road closures in the Mall area begin at 5 a.m. and the last of them, on Constitution, are scheduled to end at 6 p.m. The festival ends on Sunday. Ice Show: If you're heading for Champions on Ice at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Verizon Center downtown, you're best bet is to take Metrorail to the Gallery Place-Chinatown Station and just walk upstairs. IMF/World Bank: Because of the IMF/World Bank spring meetings in downtown Washington, the D.C. police department is closing some streets and restricting...
By Robert Thomson | April 13, 2007; 08:24 AM ET | Comments (3)
Tips For Your Weekend Travel
The cool weather may keep some people indoors, but its cherry blossom festival, Easter and the first weekend of Nationals baseball at RFK Stadium. So here is some advice for planning your travels. What you're missing. (Robert Thomson) Getting Around: Downtown Washington will likely be crowded, so it's a good idea to take transit. This link will get you to a printable map and guide to the festival. Here's a link to a Metrorail map. Events: The big cherry blossom parade isn't till next Saturday, April 14. Big events this weekend are the fireworks at 8:30 p.m. Saturday on Water Street along the Southwest waterfront. The lantern lighting ceremony is Sunday from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Tidal Basin. Click here to view The Post's events guide for the cherry blossom festival, helpful whether you want to attend or avoid events. Bikes: Check out those "Blossoms by Bike"...
By Robert Thomson | April 6, 2007; 10:34 AM ET | Comments (3)
Advisories on Weekend Travel Delays
Saturday has been a difficult day to get around in Washington, D.C. Many streets have been closed for the National Marathon, which began at 7 a.m. Saturday, and they won't be reopened until 2 p.m. You can see a map of the route here. Update: Post staff writer Amit Paley is working on a story for Sunday's paper about the disruptive effects of the marathon on travelers. Please tell him what you experienced. You can reach him either by calling the City Desk at 202-334-7300 or by sending an e-mail to paleya@washpost.com. A traffic alert from the District Department of Transportation says only five streets are open to allow you in and out of the marathon zone during this time period: -- E Street Expressway (over the Roosevelt Bridge) -- K Street, NW (east and west through Georgetown) -- Massachusetts Avenue NW (over Rock Creek Parkway) -- Rhode Island Avenue...
By Robert Thomson | March 23, 2007; 09:33 AM ET | Comments (11)
Major Roadwork This Weekend
Big traffic delays are likely this weekend because the National Park Service plans to close Memorial Circle on the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge, near Arlington National Cemetery. This is part of the rehabilitation work going on between Arlington National Cemetery and the Memorial Bridge, which leads across the Potomac to the Lincoln Memorial. The closing is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Friday and continue until noon Sunday, weather permitting. Barring traffic from Memorial Circle will have a ripple effect, so you probably won't want to be anywhere near there. To get across the river, take the 14th Street Bridge, the Roosevelt Bridge or the Key Bridge. If you plan to visit the national cemetery or the Memorial to Women in Military Service to America, take Route 110. Access to Memorial Bridge will be cut at several points in the District to accommodate the work: Rock Creek &...
By Robert Thomson | November 2, 2006; 06:22 AM ET | Comments (16)
Weekend Work at Roosevelt Bridge
Lots to watch out for on the Roosevelt Bridge this weekend as part of the reconstruction work. The District Department of Transportation plans to close the ramp from the westbound bridge to Route 50 in Virginia) and the ramp from the westbound bridge to the northbound George Washington Parkway from 8 p.m. Friday until 4 p.m. on Sunday, weather permitting. Watch for detour signs. DDOT says the $6.9 million project is on schedule for completion in December. Workers are placing a concrete deck overlay and repairing the Potomac River bridge. This includes repairs to the deck surface, replacement of the existing joint assemblies at the abutments and other upgrades, according to DDOT. I drove across the bridge last week in both directions. Had to take it real easy on the westbound side, where a lot of the surface had been removed and, as a result, the metal joints were sticking...
By Robert Thomson | October 4, 2006; 06:16 AM ET | Comments (2)
Weekend Work Announcements
We have some of the weekend travel advisories that our traffic and transit agencies issue each Thursday. This one is about Metrorail work that will slow service on the Red, Orange and Green lines this weekend. Look below for another one about work at the Springfield Interchange. This is the advisory from Metro: Orange Line Track Maintenance On Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Orange Line trains will share one track between Ballston-MU and East Falls Church-VT/UVA because of track maintenance. Passengers traveling on this portion of the Orange Line should add 15 to 20 minutes of travel time for their trip. Red Line Track Maintenance On Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Red Line trains will share one track between Silver Spring and Fort Totten because of track maintenance. Passengers traveling on this portion of the Red Line should add up to 15 minutes of...
By Robert Thomson | June 22, 2006; 03:00 PM ET | Comments (2)
Watch Out, Weekend Travelers
If you're going to be driving the Capital Beltway at night this weekend -- or any weekend in June -- you'll want to read Steve Ginsberg's story in today's Post about the construction plans involving the Wilson Bridge and the Springfield Mixing Bowl. And Metro riders also should be alert this weekend. This is how the transit authority describes the work and its impact in a statement: Metro personnel will conduct a complete maintenance overhaul outside the Stadium Armory Metrorail station on the Blue and Orange Lines from 10 p.m., Friday, June 2 to 5 a.m., Monday, June 5. This will include the replacement of 900 feet of running rail, cross ties, tie plates, stone ballast, and traction power cables on both tracks. As a result of this work, trains will not be able to operate between Stadium-Armory and Benning Road, and Stadium-Armory and Minnesota Avenue. To perform this work,...
By Robert Thomson | June 2, 2006; 10:40 AM ET | Comments (9)
