DC Metro News: Sinkhole to keep northern section of George Washington Parkway closed for days

0
295

MAY 11, 2019

Both northbound lanes of the George Washington Memorial Parkway between Chain Bridge Road and the Capital Beltway will stay closed as crews repair a sinkhole, the National Park Service said. (National Park Service)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A northern section of the George Washington Memorial Parkway will remain closed for several days as crews repair a 10-foot-deep sinkhole.

The repairs will shut down both northbound lanes of the parkway between Chain Bridge Road and the Capital Beltway, officials from the National Park Service said.

Parts of the parkway initially were closed around 6:45 p.m. Friday after a U.S. Park Police officer spotted the sinkhole — which is about 30 feet long and 20 feet wide and is next to Dead Run, near where another sinkhole had developed in March, the Park Service said.

The Park Service and Federal Highway Administration will work on the repairs.

Engineers discovered that a 60-year-old brick inlet failed and probably caused the sinkhole after recent heavy rains, the Park Service said.

The Park Service said it hopes to have one northbound lane open by Monday morning’s rush hour but warned that both lanes could remain closed if expected rain this weekend delays repairs.

Engineers are working on a long-term fix for the heavily traveled road, so further closures are expected, the Park Service said.


Courtesy/Source: Washington Post