Pentagon Road Network - The Mixing Bowl

The Mixing Bowl

The "Mixing Bowl" originally opened in 1942 as the junction of the Shirley Highway with the connection to the Arlington Memorial Bridge and the connection to Lee Boulevard. The western half, towards Lee Boulevard, was a full three-level Y interchange. The eastern half, towards the Memorial Bridge, was missing a ramp to enter the Shirley Highway northeastbound. Just south of the west half was another interchange, a single Y connecting to Arlington Ridge Road.

From 1970 to 1973, as part of a total reconstruction of the Shirley Highway, the interchange was totally rebuilt to eliminate all weaving, mainly by the use of collector/distributor roads. The former cloverleaf with Hayes Street became a complicated mess of ramps to the various roads. The ramp from I-395 south to Route 27 towards the Memorial Bridge was removed, and a pair of ramps at the crossing of Route 27 and Route 110 made some of the ramps at Jefferson Davis Highway redundant. Finally, a two-lane reversible HOV roadway was added in the median, becoming a four-lane two-way road from the eastern part of the interchange into Washington. Special ramps to Route 27 towards the Memorial Bridge and to the Pentagon south parking lot (via Eads Street) were provided for HOV traffic.