Expect delays across Wilson Bridge

This is not the weekend to drive across the Wilson Bridge if it can be avoided, Washington transportation officials warn.

Delays could be extensive as construction crews realign the Capital Beltway lanes as part of the new bridge widening project.

“We’re urging people to stay away unless they absolutely, positively have to travel through the Wilson Bridge Corridor,” said John Undeland, a spokesman for the project.

If only half as many motorists travel the Wilson Bridge Corridor compared with an average weekend, 14-mile backups are possible, computer traffic modeling shows. The bridge carries the Capital Beltway across the Potomac River from Alexandria to Maryland.

“If you do have to come through here, bring a picnic lunch,” Mr. Undeland said.

Several ramps and lanes along the Beltway approaching the bridge were to be closed, beginning at 9 p.m. last night, and will remain closed through the pre-dawn hours of Monday.

Monday’s rush-hour commute could create problems too, not from closures but from confusion over the new lane alignment.

The biggest tie-ups are expected along the Outer Loop between the Springfield Interchange and the Wilson Bridge, where only one lane will be open for part of the weekend. Motorists should drive west around the Beltway or choose I-395 to avoid the area, Mr. Undeland said.

Following is the lane and ramp closure schedule for the weekend as work crews pave and stripe roadways:

• Until about 1 p.m. today, all four ramps at Route 1 to and from the Outer Loop will be closed and traffic detoured. The ramp from Telegraph Road North to the Outer Loop also will be closed.

• Beginning early today, the Springfield Interchange Ramp from I-95 North to the Beltway’s Outer Loop will be closed. All eastbound traffic must travel on the Beltway’s Inner Loop across the American Legion Bridge. The ramp will be reopened as traffic diminishes.

• About mid-day, a second lane on the Outer Loop will be reopened. The two open lanes will be shifted to the new Beltway alignment, which is located about 65 feet south of the current alignment that has served as the exit ramp from the Outer Loop to Route 1. At the same time, all ramps at Route 1 to and from the Outer Loop, as well as from Telegraph Road North to the Outer Loop, are scheduled to be reopened today.

• On Sunday, after the paving and striping is completed, the third lane on the Outer Loop is expected to be reopened on the new Beltway alignment. The reopening would complete the Outer Loop Beltway shift, with all lanes running along the new alignment.

A realignment of lanes along the Inner Loop is planned for later this month from Maryland Route 210 to Route 1, which is likely to repeat traffic delays near the Wilson Bridge for another weekend. The first span of the bridge opened in 2006. The second span is scheduled to open June 2.

This fall, the Wilson Bridge Project plans to open express lanes over both spans, which would add two additional lanes on each span.