Road work near Lincoln Memorial

The National Park Service is going to rebuild Ohio Drive between Independence and Constitution avenues, near the Lincoln Memorial. The work, scheduled to begin Sunday and continue into late fall, will be done mostly at night. But the project is likely to affect traffic around the memorial and south of the Kennedy Center.

Drivers, bikers and walkers will need to watch for lane shifts and closings. Information about them will be posted on electronic message boards in the area.

The Park Service says we should look for frequent, total closures at night, and daytime detours that will vary depending on the phase of construction. During the day, there will be changes to both rush-hour and non-rush-hour traffic patterns. There will always be two lanes maintained on Ohio Drive inbound for the morning rush and two lanes outbound for the afternoon rush.

During off-peak hours, it will be one lane inbound and one outbound. Pedestrians and bicyclists will be detoured around the east side of the Lincoln Memorial during the entire construction period.

That area by the east bank of the Potomac River is a spaghetti twirl of pavement. The project will affect the roadways between Independence Avenue SW at the intersection of Ohio Drive SW and 23rd Street SW, on the south side of the Lincoln Memorial, and up to the southern end of Rock Creek Parkway. This is right by the Roosevelt and Arlington Memorial bridges.

Alternatives
The Park Service suggests these alternative routes.

Heading south from Rock Creek Parkway to downtown and points east: Proceed south on Rock Creek Parkway to a left-hand turn onto Virginia Avenue NW to a right-hand turn onto southbound 19th Street to a left-hand turn onto Constitution Avenue NW.

Or proceed south on Rock Creek Parkway to the left-hand turn onto Virginia Avenue NW to the right-hand turn onto southbound 19th Street to the left-hand turn onto Constitution Avenue NW, then take a right-hand turn onto southbound 17th Street to Independence Avenue SW and go east via the Kutz Bridge turnaround at the Tidal Basin.

Heading south from Rock Creek Parkway to the Arlington Memorial Bridge: Proceed south on Rock Creek Parkway to the left-hand turn onto Virginia Avenue NW, then right onto 23rd Street NW and head south to Lincoln Circle and onto Arlington Memorial Bridge.

Heading north to Rock Creek Parkway from East Potomac Park or Independence Avenue: Take Maine Avenue SW to 15th (or 17th Street during off-peak hours) northbound to westbound Constitution Avenue NW and right onto Virginia Avenue NW to northbound Rock Creek Parkway.

Heading north to the Roosevelt Bridge from East Potomac Park or Independence Avenue: Take Maine Avenue SW to 15th (or 17th Street during off-peak hours) northbound to westbound Constitution Avenue, which becomes Interstate 66/Roosevelt Bridge once past 23rd Street NW.

This Park Service map shows the work zone.