Some major traffic relief is in on the way for commuters along the Interstate 95/395 corridor as a massive bridge linking northbound lanes of I-395 and the Capital Beltway’s inner loop is expected to open to traffic at 5 a.m. Thursday morning, officials said.
The bridge is the last major connector in a nearly eight-year, $700 million effort to rebuild the once-treacherous Springfield Interchange — better known as the “Mixing Bowl.”
Project spokesman Steve Titunik said “as far as connecting the south to the north to the east to the west, this is it — the last major piece.”
The announcement marks the latest in a series of expensive projects to be completed this year. The first of two six-lane spans of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, a $2.43 billion project decades in the making, opened in June, and commuters are already seeing traffic improvements. While several other smaller projects remain, Titunik said he expects the project to be completed by next summer.
The new bridge will replace the section of the traffic “cloverleaf” that now takes northbound I-395 traffic to the Inner Loop. The new bridge is nearly one-half mile before the cloverleaf, officials said. The bridge connecting I-95/395 to the Outer Loop was opened in January.
Virginia Department of Transportation statistics show more than 1,800 vehicles per hour are expected to use the bridge between 6 and 9 a.m. and 2,200 are expected to use it between 3:30 and 6 p.m.
The bridge will separate the Beltway-bound traffic from those who wish to continue north on I-395, and commutes into the city should see major improvements, Titunik said.
Motorists heading west on Franconia Road and to the lnner Loop will also have a new ramp located off the Commerce Street Bridge opening Thursday morning, eliminating the need to get onto I-395, officials said. An estimated 1,000 vehicles are expected to use the new ramp during the morning rush.
