Virginia Traffic Updates For Inauguration Events
January 16, 2009 – 5:55 am
The following inauguration information has been issued by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management:
Jan. 18, Sunday: Theodore Roosevelt Bridge will be closed inbound to Washington, D.C., to all vehicular traffic from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Traffic heading into Washington, D.C., on eastbound I-66 will be detoured to the 14th Street Bridge via Route 110 and I-395 North. Pedestrians may cross the Roosevelt Bridge using the sidewalk. Outbound lanes on the Roosevelt Bridge will remain open all day Sunday.
As previously announced, HOV-2 is in effect eastbound on I-66 (far left lane outside the Beltway; both lanes inside the Beltway) beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, until 3 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20.
Beginning 3 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, I-66 eastbound inside the Beltway will be open only to authorized vehicles – buses, taxis, for-hire limos and for-hire car services. Westbound lanes of I-66 will be open to all vehicular traffic on Tuesday.
Jan. 18, Sunday: Memorial Bridge will be closed to all traffic from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. No vehicular or pedestrian traffic will have access to the Memorial Bridge or to the west side of the Lincoln Memorial. Pedestrians will not be able to access the event from the Arlington Cemetery Metro exit.
Additional Virginia State Police personnel will be assigned in and around this area to aid with increases in traffic volumes and detours.
These bridge closures are due to the “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial” Opening Celebration concert on the Mall on Sunday, Jan. 18. Please check www.inauguration.dc.gov prior to going to the festivities for final updates, event access, and additional road closures and restrictions within Washington, D.C.
Jan. 20, Tuesday: I-66 Westbound HOV-2 hours: On Tuesday, HOV-2 will be in effect starting at
4 p.m. (not 6 p.m. as previously announced) for westbound traffic. HOV-2 will remain in effect westbound until Wednesday at 9 p.m. – a total of 29 hours – to help clear traffic out of the city. HOV-2 is in effect on both lanes inside the Capital Beltway/I-495 and the far left lane outside the Beltway. For more information on HOV restrictions related to January 20, 2009, click on http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Inauguration_2009_GetAround.shtm.
VRE (Virginia Railway Express) is now sold out on both the Fredericksburg and Manassas lines. (as For more information, go to www.vre.org.
For additional Virginia transit options, please click on Virginia’s Inauguration Web site at http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Inauguration_2009_GetAround.shtm.
Final List of “Authorized Vehicles”
The following is a complete list of what Virginia will recognize as an “Authorized Vehicle” on Jan. 20. Authorized vehicles only will be allowed access to northbound I-395 and eastbound I-66 within the Capitol Beltway/I-495 on Tuesday. The road restrictions go into place beginning at 3 a.m. and will be lifted shortly after 7 p.m. Southbound I-395 and westbound I-66 will be open to all traffic all day Tuesday.
- Emergency Vehicles
- Taxicabs
- For-Hire Limos and For-Hire Car Services
- Buses Defined as any motor vehicle, vehicle or combination of vehicles used to transport passengers designed to seat 16 or more passengers including the driver, which includes the following:
- Transit & Commuter Buses
- Charter/ Tour
- School Buses
- Church buses
- Shuttle Buses – Airport/Hotel, etc.
- Cutaways/Large Vans
Many visitors will be traveling through Virginia from points south. The potential for significant backups exist, especially along the interstate system.
Virginia Work Zone
To reduce potential impacts to travelers throughout Virginia, and to ensure the maximum number of lanes available, all construction and maintenance activities will be suspended along selected interstates identified below.
During the entire inauguration period, there will be no lane closures for construction or maintenance work on Interstates 66, 395 and 495. In addition, there will be no lane closures on heavily traveled roads in Northern Virginia, including Routes 1, 7, 28, 50, 234, 236, the Dulles Toll Road, Fairfax County Parkway and Prince William Parkway. This will be in effect from Friday, Jan. 16, until noon, Wednesday, Jan. 21.
Elsewhere in Virginia, from Friday, Jan. 16, through noon, Tuesday, Jan. 20, there will be no temporary construction or maintenance activities in the northbound lanes of Interstates 77, 81, 85, 95 and 295. The same will occur in the westbound lanes of Interstates 64 and 664.
Beginning at noon Tuesday, Jan. 20, through noon, Wednesday, Jan. 21, there will be no temporary construction or maintenance activities in the southbound lanes of Interstates 77, 81, 85, 95 and 295; as well as temporary construction or maintenance activities in the eastbound lanes of Interstates 64 and 664.