Tim Bracken, wtop.com
Weekend Wakeup Call – Friday, Jan. 6 to Monday, Jan. 9
The big news for this weekend is DDOT’s announcement that the new outbound span of the 11th Street Bridge will open Saturday night. It’s not the final stage of the construction, so read on for more details. There will be some tunnel inspections in the NW District, along with an ongoing nightly closure in SE. Gaylord National’s ICE! will wrap up, and the Washington Winter Show will showcase fine antiques and more.
11th Street Bridge — New span opening
On Thursday, DDOT tweeted “Traffic alert: new outbound 11th St Bridge will open Saturday night.”
DDOT also posted a video, which explains what will happen when the new outbound span opens. While crews work to finalize the changes, drivers can expect some closures on Saturday. Here’s what you need to know:
- From 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, the ramp from eastbound Southeast-Southwest Freeway to the outbound bridge will be closed
- The ramp from 11th Street SE to the outbound bridge will be closed
- A single lane will be closed on southbound 295 near the bridge from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- At about 1 p.m., access to the existing outbound bridge will be open for local traffic to Anacostia
When the new span opens around 10 p.m., it will be business as usual for drivers headed from the Southeast-Southwest Freeway to southbound I-295, but local traffic headed to Anacostia will have a new temporary traffic pattern:
- Stay on the Freeway across the 11th Street Bridge and take the Howard Road exit off southbound I-295
- Take the 6th Street exit off the SE/SW Freeway. Go straight on Virginia Avenue, right on 8th Street to M Street, left on M and then right on 11th Street to access the outbound bridge.
The final new local bridge is scheduled to open this summer.
Tunnel Inspections in the District
DDOT will continue routine tunnel inspections in the District in the coming weeks, starting this Sunday night:
- Eastbound Massachusetts Avenue NW under Thomas Circle, the eastbound tunnel will be closed between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.
- Westbound Massachusetts Avenue NW under Thomas Circle, the westbound tunnel will be closed between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m.
- Traffic will be directed to the ramp for Thomas Circle to continue on Massachusetts Avenue.
For Monday:
- Northbound 16th Street NW under Scott Circle, the northbound tunnel will be closed between8 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
- Southbound 16th Street NW under Scott Circle, the southbound tunnel will be closed between11:30 p.m. and 4 a.m.
- Traffic will be directed to the ramp for Scott Circle to continue on 16th Street.
Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue
- DDOT will temporarily close the intersection of Good Hope Road SE and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE and the inbound ramp to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.
- Closures will take place nightly through Jan. 27
Washington Winter Show
The popular antiques show will take place at the Katzen Arts Center at 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW. On Friday and Saturday, show hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. On Sunday, show hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. More than 40 distinguished dealers of antiques and fine arts will be featured in this year’s theme, Celebrating The White House.
Gaylord National’s ICE!
This is the final weekend for Gaylord National’s ICE! at National Harbor. The walk-through attraction features characters from Dreamworks’ Merry Madagascar brought to life in the form of giant ice sculptures. The event will run through Jan. 8.
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