Motorists crossing the Woodrow Wilson Bridge from Maryland will have to endure several lane and ramp closures this week, project officials said.

The closures, which are scheduled to end Monday morning, will allow work crews to shift traffic on the Capital Beltway’s Inner Loop onto newly constructed lanes approaching the bridge. The new lanes stretch for a mile between Exit 3 (Maryland 210) and Exit 2 (Interstate 295).

The first closure will occur after this morning’s rush hour. The exit ramp taking traffic from Maryland 210 to the Inner Loop toward Virginia will close at 10 a.m., which is expected to particularly delay commuters Thursday and Friday mornings. The detour route will take motorists to Oxon Hill Road, where they will merge onto the Inner Loop. While the ramp is closed, workers will raise it seven feet to the same level as the new lanes.

The Inner Loop will be reduced to one lane between Maryland 210 and I-295 beginning 9 p.m. Friday. Two lanes are scheduled to reopen Saturday morning, and plans call for a third to be open to traffic by the mid-afternoon. The final closed lane will be available to motorists by Monday morning.

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Looking ahead, motorists driving over the bridge late at night or early in the morning during the next two weeks may be delayed while the crossing’s drawbridge is tested.

More lane closures are planned for next weekend as well, when work will continue on lanes approaching the bridge. When completed, the new lanes will separate local traffic from vehicles traveling longer distances.

jrogalsky@dcexaminer.com