(Updated at 3:25 p.m.) Demolition work is set to get started next week on the S. Clark Street overpass in Crystal City, and that will prompt a handful of traffic detours through the end of the month.
Workers will begin removing the elevated section of the road over 15th Street S. next Monday (July 16) and the demolition is set to run through July 26. The county doesn’t plan to use any explosives in this process, and will merely remove the overpass in sections.
The work will impact eastbound 15th Street S. from July 16-17, with detours set to help drivers reach Route 1 and 18th Street S. Then, the demolition will cause problems on the westbound section of the road from July 18-26, with similar detours planned.
The demolition work will run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, though detours will continue on weekends. At least one sidewalk under the bridge will remain open at all times as the work progresses.
The county closed the S. Clark Street overpass to traffic in February to kick off work on this project, with the ultimate goal of easing traffic patterns in the area and encouraging more development along Route 1. Ultimately, the county plans to re-align S. Clark Street in the area to open up more green space in the area, projecting to wrap up that effort in 2022.
Just a week left to bond visually with the doomed Clark Street structure above 15th Street in Crystal City. That puppy's coming down. Sadly no explosives will be involved. https://t.co/wynyUwWeoB pic.twitter.com/SmozxhBZJu
— Arlington DES (@ArlingtonDES) July 9, 2018