***TRAFFIC ADVISORY***

DDOT to Repair and Repaint Chain Bridge

Work Scheduled to Start June 1; Traffic Will Be Impacted

(Washington, D.C.) The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is scheduled to begin an eight month project on or about Monday, June 1, 2009, to repair and repaint Chain Bridge over the Potomac River and the C & O Canal. All of the work is anticipated to be completed in January, 2010.

To ensure the safety of work crews and motorists, one of the two inbound lanes on the bridge will be closed to traffic throughout the construction period. A single lane in each direction will be maintained at all times on weekdays, but delays are possible and motorists are advised to use alternate routes, especially during peak hours.

In addition, certain repairs on the bridge will require the contractor to close all of the lanes. Those closures will be temporary and conducted only on non-holiday weekends between 10 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Monday. Notice will be posted 72 hours in advance at the approaches to the bridge for these special closures.

The current Chain Bridge was completed in 1939 and sits on stone piers from the 1870’s. It carries close to 22,000 cars a day and the last major rehabilitation of the bridge was done in the early 1980’s.

The work on the bridge will include:

DDOT will deploy variable message signs to alert motorists to the impending work, and detour routes will be posted. For more information about the project, please contact the Program Manager, Said Cherifi, at (202) 671-4611.

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