News Release

George Washington Memorial Parkway will fully reopen around 2 p.m.

Date: March 23, 2019
Contact: Jonathan Shafer, [phone]
Contact: Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, [phone]

McLean, Va. — The northbound lanes of the George Washington Memorial Parkway from VA 123, Chain Bridge Rd. to I-495 the Capital Beltway, will reopen around 2 p.m. today. The National Park Service with support from the Federal Highway Administration has completed repairs to the sinkhole affecting the George Washington Memorial Parkway sooner than we had anticipated.

Crews worked through the night to address drainage issues and fill the 10-foot deep, 12-foot wide, and 30-foot long sinkhole. Today they placed more than 350 square feet of new asphalt over the repaired area. This work followed efforts yesterday to excavate around a damaged stormwater drainage pipe and determine the best way to effectively fill the void so that we could quickly and safely reopen the road.

In the coming weeks, the National Park Service will monitor for settling and repair the median. Drivers should anticipate single lane, night time closures for that work.

As a critical link in the region's transportation network, closing the George Washington Memorial Parkway is never a decision the National Park Service makes lightly. It is also not a process that we manage alone.

“Coordination with our partners at the Federal Highway Administration, Virginia Department of Transportation and Virginia State Police was essential to getting this work done quickly and safely,” George Washington Memorial Parkway Superintendent Charles Cuvelier said.

You can read background about these repairs in the news release we shared on Friday.