Headaches on the horizon

The Virginia Department of Transportation has postponed a major traffic shift originally scheduled for Thursday night. Traffic on the Little River Turnpike is now scheduled to move onto the new Capital Beltway bridge starting Sunday night.

So by 5 a.m. Monday, commuters will see a new traffic pattern that is scheduled to last for 18 months. There will be two, rather than three, westbound lanes on the bridge. In addition, drivers traveling from the inner loop to the westbound turnpike will have to yield because there will be no merge area.

On Sunday, turnpike drivers approaching the interchange may encounter some delays as workers prepare for the traffic shift, now scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m.