Complete Closure of Branch Avenue to Allow Crews to Set Bridge Structural Steel for New Flyover Ramp at I-95/MD 5 Interchange
(January 4, 2008) - As part of the State Highway Administration's (SHA) $52 million interchange project along MD 5 at I-95 (Capital Beltway), SHA will early next month set structural steel for the new southbound Capital Beltway flyover ramp to southbound Branch Avenue. The steel placement will require a temporary roadway closure. Weather permitting, the steel placement will begin on Saturday, January 5 at 2 p.m. and require a total closure of MD 5. All lanes should be open by Monday morning, January 7 at 5 a.m., weather permitting.
To protect motorists and workers during the dangerous process of setting structural steel, SHA will temporarily close both directions along Branch Avenue between Auth Road and Manchester Drive, including the right lane along the outer loop of the Capital Beltway at the MD 5 interchange, which will be blocked for approximately ¼-mile north of the MD 5 interchange to allow sufficient acceleration for motorists using the MD 5 detour.
The ramp from northbound I-95 to northbound MD 5 will also be closed; also, motorists will not have direct access from southbound I-95/I-495 to southbound MD 5 during the construction.
The following detours will be in effect for Branch Avenue motorists:
For traffic using southbound MD 5 (from Washington D.C. toward Clinton) OR traffic using the southbound I-95 ramp to southbound MD 5: From southbound MD 5, motorists will take the ramp for southbound I-95, to Exit 4A (MD 414 - Saint Barnabas Road westbound). Traffic will use the MD 414 interchange to re-enter northbound I-95/I-495 and head back to southbound MD 5. (This detour is approximately seven miles).
For traffic using northbound MD 5 (from Clinton to Washington D.C.) OR traffic using the southbound I-95 ramp and northbound I-95 ramp to northbound MD 5: From northbound MD 5, motorists will exit onto Northbound I-95/I-495 to Exit 9, MD 337 (Allentown Road). Traffic will loop through the MD 337 interchange to access Southbound I-95/I-495 and/or continue north on MD 5. (This detour is approximately three miles).
In case of inclement weather, the rain/snow date is Saturday, January 12 at 2 p.m. with all lanes open by Monday morning, January 14 at 5 a.m. This bridge construction is part of the $52 million interchange project to improve access to the Branch Avenue Metro Station. The project began in March 2006 and is expected to be completed by fall 2009, weather permitting. SHA's contractor for the project is Cherry Hill Construction of Jessup.