Wilson Bridge work causes minor delays

Motorists hit only minor delays yesterday traveling through a major phase of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge construction project, which transportation officials said could end by today because of the minimal traffic, few problems and decent weather.

The anticipated 90-minute delays and massive backups along the Outer Loop of the Capital Beltway west of the bridge turned out be little more than one- or two-mile traffic jams for most motorists.

“One of the heroes of this weekend’s operation is the public, who heard the warning and heeded it,” said John Undeland, a spokesman for the bridge project. “We are seeing a much lighter than typical volume of traffic.”

However, the unsung heroes might well be officials involved with the project who crafted an aggressive public-awareness campaign that included TV and radio ads, road signs, a Web site, a press day and advisories as far away as the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

“When I was driving last weekend, I heard something on the radio that they were doing this and that there was going to be a delay,” said Dana Coughpry, 21, who lives near the construction in the Alexandria area. “People probably altered their schedules to make sure they didn’t have to deal with that.”

Most of the delays yesterday were created by a 7-mile stretch of the Outer Loop — the section of Interstate 95 that loops around the District — being reduced to one lane from the bridge to the Route 1 interchange in Virginia. Crews also closed the ramps from Route 1 to the Outer Loop, which allowed them to shift lanes for new bridge spans, pave road surfaces and accommodate work on the Washington Street overpass.

Motorists traveling north on Interstate 95 from the Richmond area sat through some of the biggest backups yesterday because they were diverted at the Springfield Interchange and sent across the American Legion Bridge near the Fairfax County-Montgomery County line. The backup stretched at least six miles near the bridge at about 4 p.m.

The “critical phase” or “Beltway shift,” as officials called the weekend construction, began as planned at 8 p.m. Friday, despite thunderstorms that caused minor flash flooding throughout the region and the forecast for additional storms. The weekend work was expected to end at 5 a.m. tomorrow but could end by this afternoon.

By 4:30 p.m. yesterday, work crews had succeeded in shifting the Outer Loop away from its original approach and onto a single lane of the new approach, Mr. Undeland said.

He also said the Route 1 ramps were expected to open ahead of schedule and that all three lanes of the Outer Loop could be restored earlier than expected.

The $2.44 billion, 11-year project bridge is scheduled for completion in mid-2008.

A similar project on the Inner Loop near the bridge, which crosses the Potomac River and connects Virginia to Maryland, is planned for the coming weeks.

Joan Morris, a Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman, called the weekend projects this summer “probably the biggest, most significant impacts for the entire 11 years of the project.”

“It has gone remarkably and surprisingly well,” she said. “Even the weather has cooperated.”

However, four operators will continue monitoring the 877/959-5222 hot line through the weekend for motorists to call for updates on traffic. The Web site (www.wilsonbridge.com) also has up-to-date information.

Jerryl Guy, 40, a contractor from Fort Washington who was getting gas yesterday at a Shell station near the construction, said he knew to avoid the bridge when he was coming back from Virginia late last night.

“I was coming from Fairfax on my way back at about 3 a.m.,” he said. “Instead of taking the Beltway, I came up Interstate 395 and came into D.C. that way.”

Jose Ricardo Colin, 42, a furniture installation worker from Bowie, wasn’t so lucky. He was returning from an installation job in Alexandria and had not heard about the bridge construction. When he tried to merge onto Interstate 95 North from Interstate 495 in Virginia, he found out the ramp was closed.

Instead, Mr. Colin had to backtrack to Telegraph Road and cross the bridge over to Maryland. He said he sat in traffic approaching the bridge for about 45 minutes.

“All four lanes, slowly but surely, came to one,” he said. “It was completely backed up.”

Transportation officials reported a “slight backup” of about a mile yesterday afternoon near Telegraph Road.

• Amy Doolittle, Tarron Lively and Julia Neyman contributed to this article.