After 60 years without major repair, scenic George Washington Pkwy is due a $161 million renovation

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The George Washington Parkway, a scenic route honoring the nation’s first president and one of the busiest corridors in Northern Virginia, hasn’t had a serious repair job in almost 60 years.

Gaps are spreading. Cracks are widening. Drainage outfalls are eroding. And some sections of the road are deteriorating faster than they can be fixed.

The northern and busiest stretch of the 25-mile route is about to get a complete makeover. This month the National Park Service awarded a $161 million contract in a multiyear repair project that promises a new roadway — and nightmarish traffic when construction begins in about a year.

The work will span 7.6 miles from Spout Run to Interstate 495, where about 70,000 vehicles travel daily. Crews will excavate the entire area before laying new asphalt. Roadside barriers, stone walls and other traffic safety features will be rebuilt. The work also includes improved storm drainage, a redesign of the Route 123 interchange in McLean and improvements to entrance and exit lanes.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/12/27/george-washington-parkway-repair-traffic/

[elleng]

1. WOW! Huge project.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. Good.

I lived in Alexandria, VA, 1969-1979. Near Old Town. One year, sometime in the late '70s, fall was especially spectacular. I worked at DCA, National airport, and that fall I was working a morning shift. Many days, when I got off work at 4:30 I'd drive down the GW Parkway all the way to Mount Vernon, just to see the trees and the leaves. I was so glad I could do that.

[bottomofthehill]

3. We lived in New Alexandria

Until hurricane Isabelle left us under water. We lived between the belle haven country club and the belleview shopping plaza