Nighttime I-66 Lane Closures Related To Gallows Road Bridge Work

VIENNA, VA — Overnight lane closures on Interstate 66 are planned as part of the ongoing work on the new Gallows Road Bridge in the Dunn Loring-Merrifield area.

A new Gallows Road Bridge over I-66 is being constructed as part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project. The bridge is being lengthened, widened, raised, and shifted to the east to accommodate new Express Lanes on I-66 and make room for future improvements along Gallows Road. The Express Lanes, which will be alongside three regular lanes from the Beltway to University Boulevard in Gainesville, are scheduled to open in December 2022.

This week, overhead bridge work will prompt the lane closures and traffic stoppages on westbound I-66. According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, lane closures and traffic stoppages up to 20 minutes will occur during nighttime hours on Tuesday, Oct. 27 through Friday, Oct. 30. In addition, Gallows Road over I-66 will be reduced to a single travel lane in each direction each night.

Between 9:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Tuesday to Friday, westbound I-66 will be reduced to one travel lane from Leesburg Pike approaching Gallows Road. Periodic stoppages up to 20 minutes will occur between midnight and 4 a.m. All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m.

Gallows Road over I-66 will be reduced to one travel lane in each direction from Tuesday to Friday between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Two-way traffic will run on the southbound side of Gallows Road. All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m.

Lastly, the ramp from the northbound I-495 Express Lanes to I-66 west will be closed during overnight hours, 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Tuesday to Friday. Traffic will be detoured to eastbound I-66, where drivers will take the Route 7 exit, stay to the left, turn left at the signal and follow signs for I-66 west.

Message boards on Gallows Road and I-66 will notify drivers of the upcoming lane closures and traffic stoppages. Drivers should expect delays in the area and are urged to use alternate routes. Work is weather dependent.

The new Gallows Road bridge will be wider and have a bike lane in each direction, according to VDOT. Pedestrians will have a sidewalk along northbound Gallows Road or barrier-separated path along southbound Gallows Road. There will be a connection to a new shared-use path being built along I-66.

The new bridge for northbound Gallows Road is being built just east of the current bridge and is expected to be complete in early 2021. The old bridge will then be demolished, and another bridge will be built in its place and will accommodate southbound traffic and the shared-use path. The entire bridge project is expected to be complete in early 2022.

To check the latest traffic impacts from the I-66 project, visit the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project website.