Several openings of the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge are planned tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday to allow passage of a tugboat.
The drawbridge will open for the tugboat “Recoil” at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday and again when it returns around 11 p.m., according to a city government advisory. Capital Beltway drivers should expect delays and follow posted traffic advisories during the drawbridge openings.
Other bridge openings are planned for routine maintenance between 10 p.m. Thursday and 5 a.m. Friday. According to the city, multiple openings and traffic stoppages will occur during the maintenance.
The Wilson Bridge is a drawbridge that spans the Potomac River, connecting Virginia and Prince George’s County, Md. via the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495). Passages of larger vessels periodically disrupt the traffic flow on the busy interstate. While the original bridge required drawbridge openings about 260 times per year, the higher reconstructed bridge introduced in 2006 reduced that number to about 60.
