Woodrow Wilson Bridge - Replacement Facilities

Replacement Facilities

Maryland, Virginia, and federal highway officials had been confronting the problems and exploring alternatives for many years. After considerable study and public debate, it was determined that a plan doubling the capacity and increasing the height of the draw portion to reduce the frequencies of openings at the same location offered the best solutions. Construction began on the replacement facilities and approaches in 1999. The old Wilson Bridge was replaced by two new side-by-side drawbridges with a total of 12 lanes and 70 feet (21 m) of vertical navigational clearance at the draw span.

The new spans are 20 feet (6 m) higher, which is high enough to allow most boats and small ships to pass underneath without having to raise the bridge, thus eliminating the large traffic tie-ups that are caused by opening the span, though tall ships will still require the opening of the bridge. It is hoped that the number of openings will be reduced from about 260 a year to about 60 a year, according to transportation officials.

The enormous bridge replacement project also includes an extensive redesign and reconstruction of the Capital Beltway as it approaches the new bridge from both the Maryland and Virginia sides. The entire cost of the project is estimated at $2.5 billion.

The first new six-lane Potomac River bridge opened for northbound Outer Loop traffic on June 10, 2006, with only minor delays (the lane striping of the bridge and approach did not match up initially). The first car to cross was a Toyota Corolla.

Traffic from the Inner Loop of the Beltway was rerouted to the future Outer Loop express lanes for a two-year interim basis on July 16, 2006 at midnight. The original 1961 bridge was originally to be demolished at 11:59 pm, on August 28, 2006, to make room for completion of the second six-lane bridge (the future permanent home of the Inner Loop) located between the original bridge and the new Outer Loop span. Local commuter Daniel Ruefly was given the honor of initiating the detonation after he won a contest where he was judged the driver to have suffered the most from the bridge's congestion. The detonation was later delayed to 12:15 am, and again to 12:25. Finally, the bridge was demolished at around 12:35. The air space above the bridge, and the Beltway in both directions, were both closed during the detonation. The second bridge span was dedicated on May 15, 2008; on May 30, 2008, Inner Loop traffic was shifted onto it.

Of the 12 lanes, six are used for local traffic. Four lanes, isolated from the local lanes, are used for through traffic. The remaining two lanes are used for High-occupancy vehicle lane and bus traffic. While there are no such current plans, the design of the bridge allows for rail or other mass transit to replace the HOV/bus lanes in the future.

The northern span of the bridge also includes pedestrian and bike passage, separated from traffic by safety barriers. The path, which opened on June 6, 2009, is approximately 12 feet (3.7 m) wide and 1.1 miles (1.8 km) long, with "bump-out" areas where users can stop to observe views of Washington and Old Town Alexandria.

The majority of the highway project was completed by 2009, and the upgraded Telegraph Road interchange will be complete by 2013.

After the completion of the Wilson Bridge project, the State of Maryland and the Commonwealth of Virginia became the joint owners of the completed bridge, and both states exercise joint responsibility and oversight of bridge activities, maintenance, and operations. The District of Columbia, a jurisdiction that once had ownership rights to the 1961 Wilson Bridge span, relinquished future ownership rights and responsibility for the new bridge. Additionally, the District granted a permanent easement to Maryland and Virginia for the portion of the bridge located within its boundaries.