The final driving lanes of the long-awaited Woodrow Wilson Bridge opened six months ago. Work on some of the interchanges leading up to the bridge ended last week. And, on Saturday, officials plan to open a bike-and-walking path on it that advocates say will serve as a critical connection between Maryland and Virginia for two-wheeled commuters.
The completion of those projects is a relief for drivers who had battled traffic for years along the original bridge, which was known as the worst bottleneck on Interstate 95.
But those who have sought a public transit option along the major bridge will have to wait.
The set of bridges was built with an extra lane in each direction for some form of public transit, but local officials have not decided what to build there. Light or heavy rail? Bus transit? Trolleys? High-occupancy vehicle lanes?
“Right now the pavement is going to stay the way it is,” said David Buck, a spokesman for the Maryland State Highway Administration. “Ultimately, a policy-level decision will be made from all involved.”
That means consensus will be needed from Virginia, Maryland and federal officials, said Woodrow Wilson Project spokeswoman Johanna Jones. Metro, other transit groups and local officials also could be involved, depending on the project planned.
Both Buck and Ronaldo “Nick” Nicholson, director of Virginia’s mega-projects program that has managed the bridge construction, say the mass transit project has been pushed off as funding has dried up.
There is no timetable, and no decisions have been made on what should go in the extra lanes, they say.
“Everything is on the table,” Nicholson said.
Ultimately, he said, officials must know they have demand from riders before they add another option. The original bridge had some bus lines, but the traffic made the route too unreliable.
In the meantime, the extra lanes are unstriped, left for emergency or maintenance vehicles only.
