Flashing Lights: Road to the Battle of the Vowels, Part 3: Fairfax County, Alexandria, and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge

Continuing from Part 2, you can see US 1's bridge across the Occoquan River from I-95.

Exit 161 is a partial interchange with US 1.

The cause of this traffic jam. There are more.

The exit tab, once again, is on the wrong side.

Hey, what a novel idea. Still, the traffic jam was over by this point. For now.

We're not going that far north.

The first VA 286 shield. And as you can see, the HOV lanes have opened, but traffic had already gotten in them anyway because someone left a gate open.

Now the traffic jam is in the HOV lanes!

More VA 286 shields.

There's one missing.

Not patched yet.

VA 289 is only directly accessible from the HOV lanes.

You can very easily see the patches over the old shields on the VA 289 BGS's.

Approaching the Springfield Interchange.

Traffic.

And more VA 289 patches.

Getting onto the Capital Beltway. Sloooowly.

Off in the distance, you can barely make out an unpatched 7900 shield. This should be a VA 289 shield soon.

Slowly getting onto the Beltway.

What is up with that VA 241 shield? (See what I did there?)

VDOT-spec I-95 and 495 trailblazer pair.

Van Dorn Street is also VA 401 in Alexandria.

I wonder what's under there...

Splitting lanes eventually.

Good, we don't need to exit in Virginia anyway.

Another mystery BGS.

Temporary VA 241 guide sign.

Another pair of VDOT-spec reassurance shields.

I'm curious to know how VDOT and MD SHA work out the logistics for shields in each other's state. The Inner Loop of the Beltway has VA 241, VA 267, and SR 613 shields in Maryland.

I wonder how many people would think this is the same I-295 that goes around Richmond, just because it has signage in Virginia.

So are we splitting yet?

Yes, finally.

Exit 176A was closed.

Consturction to elimitante the truck trarffic.

Exit 176B looked closed, too.

Entering Alexandria.

This whole interchange system is breathtaking.

Exit 177 is the last in Virginia.

Entering the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. The border with Maryland is interrupted by a brief section of DC, but the I-95 and 495 shields are placed like they were instealled by MD SHA.

Looks like a coin, doesn't it?

I, for some reason, remember seeing a map that showed MD 210 and I-295 meeting each other at the same exit before this whole project started. Can anyone confirm/deny this for me?