Hopefully you’ve gotten used to the lane closure on westbound Route 50 near Courthouse, because it’s probably sticking around for the holidays.
The lane closure, put into place to facilitate a utility relocation project, was originally supposed to be lifted in July. Now, it will likely be in place through the end of the year.
Washington Gas will wrap up their portion of the utility work by the end of October or beginning of November, according to VDOT utility relocation manager Matthew McLaughlin. Then it’s expected that Dominion will start a two-month installation of an underground electrical conduit. The existing lane closure will stay in place during that time.
The planned two-month duration of the Dominion work “can increase very quickly” in the event of inclement weather, we’re told.
The lane closure has made a tricky merge from Courthouse Road onto westbound Route 50 even trickier. Somewhat ironically, the ultimate goal of the utility relocation work is to prepare for the construction of a safer Route 50/Courthouse Road interchange.
The multi-month delays in the project were caused by additional utility relocations that had to be made due to changes in the interchange construction plan, McLaughlin said.
Photo courtesy Todd DuBois