Beltway construction reset for April 19

Massive project will close highway for hours

Workers need dry conditions and wind less than 25 mph to set the beams, SHA spokesman Chuck L. Gischlar said.

Highway officials said they will begin closing southbound lanes at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 19. Southbound lanes will remain closed until as late as 1 p.m. Sunday, April 20, with some lanes possibly reopening as early as 10 a.m., depending on the pace of the work.

Two northbound lanes will close at 8 p.m., with all of the remaining lanes closing by 1 a.m. Sunday, SHA officials said. One northbound lane is expected to reopen at 7 a.m., with all lanes expected to reopen at 1 p.m.

Highway officials are expecting the project to cause massive gridlock. They are asking drivers to avoid that stretch of the beltway near Andrews Air Force Base during the times that lanes are set to be closed.

Drivers heading north or south across Maryland should consider using the western half of the Beltway, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway or a combination of Route 301, Route 50 and Interstate-97, SHA officials said.

Drivers who stay on the Beltway will be forced to exit at Branch Avenue and take detours along surface roads, which highway officials said will cause extensive backups.

The steel beams being set on bridge supports are part of a two-lane overpass being built over the beltway that will eventually link southbound lanes with southbound Branch Avenue.

The construction is part of a $52 million overhaul of the interchange that highway officials started in 2005 and hope to finish by 2009.