Woodrow Wilson Bridge

Solving one of the worst bottlenecks on the East Coast, the $2.4 billion Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project in northern Virginia and Maryland replaced nearly 12% of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495/95) and created four new interchanges. Opened in 1961, the original bridge was designed for 75,000 trips per day, but over the years traffic swelled to nearly 200,000 trips daily—11% of them by large trucks. With eight highway lanes squeezing into the original bridge’s six lanes, the lack of shoulders and merge lanes resulted in accident rates twice those of other segments of the Beltway, and emergency crews were delayed in reaching those in need. Peak period stop-and-go conditions also contributed to decreased air quality. As one of nine bridges within the interstate highway system with a movable span, the 260 bridge openings per year created additional delays and congestion. These issues rendered the old bridge functionally obsolete.

The new drawbridges are 20 feet higher than the original, and the number of openings is expected to be reduced to about 65 per year, down about 75%. Shoulders on the new bridge will reduce the rate of accidents and improve accident management, and new merge lanes will increase safety. The new bridge has 12 lanes, including two express-type through lanes on each span to accommodate High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) traffic. The new bridge was named the 2008 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement by ASCE.

Photo courtesy of the Wilson Bridge Project.