The Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail detour at Lee Highway (Route 29) in Arlington changed last Friday as construction of the new trail bridge over Lee Highway progressed. The new trail bridge is scheduled to open in the fall.

The current detour west of Lee Highway, which uses nearby streets, has been in place since construction began last April. Trail users will now travel on 200 feet of temporary pavement adjacent to the new bridge and original trail alignment. This new configuration will remain in place until completion of construction, with the occasional need to revert to the previous detour during certain construction activities.

Since construction of the new trail bridge began in April 2019, new bridge abutments have been built and bridge beams have been installed. Crews working on the bridge deck should be completed this April after installing steel and preparing for upcoming concrete deck pours.

W&OD Trail bridge construction is part of the Transform 66 Inside the Beltway Eastbound Widening Project, which is adding a travel lane along four miles of eastbound I-66 and installing approximately 12,000 lin-
ear feet of new and replacement noise barriers. The project also includes constructing a new direct access ramp from eastbound I-66 to the West Falls Church Metro Station at the Route 7 Interchange, which is scheduled to begin in spring 2020.

The additional eastbound lane is scheduled to open to traffic in fall 2020, and the overall project
is expected to be complete in
fall 2021.