Travelers using Interstate 95 in Alexandria, VA – the Inner Loop of the Capital Beltway – should prepare for heavy traffic during the overnight hours this weekend and into early next week near the Wilson Bridge and Route 1 Interchange, as crews hoist five 80-foot long steel beams across the Inner Loop lanes.

According to a release from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project, the beams will support a new ramp from southbound Route 1 to the Beltway’s Outer Loop toward Maryland. Traffic impacts on the Inner Loop will extend beyond Route 1 to the Springfield Interchange on Saturday night into Sunday Morning, as the Springfield Interchange Project also is planning overnight closures and detours on the Inner Loop.

“Travelers need to plan accordingly for the upcoming overnight lane and ramp closures,” said Ronaldo “Nick” Nicholson, Virginia Department of Transportation project manager, in a press release. “Motorists should expect significant backups and delays during the temporary traffic stoppages.”

Travelers are urged to avoid the Inner Loop, beginning at the Wilson Bridge through the Springfield Interchange, and choose an alternate route.

Traffic at the Wilson Bridge Project will be reduced from three to one lane on the Inner Loop, from the Wilson Bridge until just past the Route 1 Interchange, and the southbound Route 1 to Interstate 95 North (Beltway Outer Loop) ramp will be closed.

Drivers are advised that during work hours, the remaining one lane of Beltway traffic will be periodically stopped for 20-30 minute intervals between the hours of 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. In addition, the ramps from Route 1 North and South to the Inner Loop, as well as the access road located to the north of the Inner Loop, will be closed for as long as 57 hours, beginning at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, until as late as 5 a.m. Monday, Nov. 7.

Ramp traffic will be detoured south on Route 1 to Huntington Avenue to Telegraph Road and then back to the Inner Loop. The ramps and access road again will be closed between the hours of 8:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday nights (Nov. 7 and 8).

Motorists can find the latest Wilson Bridge Project traffic information at wilsonbridge.com or by calling 1-877-463-6992.