Drivers have options to avoid Wilson Bridge ‘switch’

The southbound portion of the Interstate 495 Inner Loop will become a gridlocked nightmare this weekend unless drivers opt to take alternate routes around the last major traffic shift for the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge span, officials said.

Already considered one of the worst bottlenecks in the region, the area is likely to remain jammed through early Monday morning after construction crews squeezed four miles on the Maryland side of the Capital Beltway down to a single lane Friday night. The closure was necessary to give workers space to realign the busy highway with the new bridge span. The connecting ramp from southbound Interstate 295 was also closed and the ramp to Route 1 will close Saturday, project spokesman John Undeland said.