The George Washington Memorial Parkway near I-495 with a temporary reversible lane (via Google Maps)
It took four days of work, but all trees have finally been cleared from the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
The parkway’s northern section between the Capital Beltway (I-495) in McLean and Spout Run Parkway in Arlington reopened at 9:45 a.m. today after hundreds of trees downed by a storm on Saturday (July 29) necessitated an extended closure.
The northbound lane reopened at 1 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday), but the southbound lane weren’t cleared until this morning, according to the National Park Service.
The GW Parkway will be fully operational for the afternoon rush-hour.
Drivers should use caution as the 3-lane traffic configuration is still in effect for the north parkway rehabilitation project.
— National Parks of Greater Washington, DC (@NPSNewsDC) August 2, 2023
“We extend our sincere appreciation to the public for their patience and understanding during this closure period,” GW Parkway Superintendent Charles Cuvelier said. “The safety of our visitors and commuters remains our top priority. We are dedicated to ensuring their well-being and convenience throughout their journey on the George Washington Memorial Parkway.”
As of yesterday, clean-up crews had removed up to 325 trees from the roadway, creating more than 500 tons of wood and debris that filled up 100 dump trucks and 15 chipper trucks, the NPS previously said.
The NPS noted that drivers should still be cautious around ongoing construction to rehabilitate the parkway. The project required the addition of a third, reversible lane in the median that has been in effect since April.
Image via Google Maps
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