[MR] Potential for a massive traffic snarl in DC June 9-11

[Alan MacNeill]

Just heard this on the radio on the way into work, and thought it important
enough to pass along.

VDOT and MDOT are finally close to finishing the new Woodrow Wilson bridges
on I-495 (DC Beltway).  Although this will make travel to Kingdom's Crusades
a lot easier this fall, there are potential impacts on event travels this
June.

On the weekend of Highland River Melees, they will be rolling traffic on the
"Outer" (Counterclockwise) loop (I-95 North towards Baltimore) over to the
new bridge.  In order to do that, they will be taking I-95 North/I-495 down
to a SINGLE lane.  Traffic coming up I-95 from Richmond/Fredricksburg/etc
will be diverted onto the Inner loop (Clockwise) that weekend.

This could impact travel to Highland River Melees.  Although anyone south of
DC travelling up 95 onto 495 towards Hagerstown would be on the Inner loop
anyhow, the extra traffic and general confusion due to the rerouting is
expected to cause significant backups, even worse than usual.  They estimate
as much as 2 hours added onto the regular travel time.

VDOT heavily recommends finding alternative routes rather than going through
that area.  They're taking it seriously enough to run commercials on radio
stations in Richmond 3 weeks in advance.

Viable alternative routes for those coming up from the South include taking
17 from Fredricksburg to I-81 to Hagerstown and many others.  Consult with
your preferred mapping technology, avoiding I-495 if at all possible.

See http://www.wilsonbridge.com/pdfs/GeneralAwarenessAd_060516.pdf for more
details.