Crash caused partial closure of Capital Beltway in Fairfax Co. on Friday

By Jessica Kronzer
July 17, 2026 | 4:01 PM

A crash in Fairfax County, Virginia, closed some lanes of the Capital Beltway on the Outer Loop, jamming traffic during the Friday afternoon rush hour.

Part of Interstate 495 were closed between Interstate 66 and Route 50 as police investigated, according to WTOP’s Traffic Center.

For about 30 minutes, all lanes of the Beltway were shut down near the crash.

Once police reopened a few of the main lanes and the express lanes, traffic was creeping by the crash site.

Few details about the crash are available but a program operated by area transportation authorities said it involved a tractor-trailer.

Listen to WTOP for the latest on roadway impacts.

WTOP’s Dave Dildine contributed to this report.

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Metro and IndyCar team up for a busy weekend of Freedom 250 Grand Prix events

By Alan Etter
August 20, 2026 | 3:03 PM

No, you weren't hallucinating Thursday morning — that was an IndyCar being pulled along the Metro tracks through a portion of D.C. It was part of a promotion between the Freedom 250 Grand Prix and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to remind people that the best way to navigate the expected huge crowds this weekend is to take Metro. "Even IndyCar knows the fastest way to get around is actually on Metro," said Randy Clarke, the transit agency's general manager and CEO. "We're really excited about this, and this car was a really kind of fun way to show a different way that people can see the Metro system, and we're having a little fun." The IndyCar, described as a work car that will not run in any of the races scheduled over the weekend, was fastened aboard a flat-bed train car and pulled along the yellow line, beginning at the King Street station up to the Mount Vernon station then back south to the L'Enfant Plaza station. Metro riders gawked at the multicolored, low-profile racecar as the train paused at L'Enfant for a photo op.

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