Nighttime construction planned for GW Parkway in McLean, starting Friday

For the next couple of weeks, sunset will provide no relief from construction on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in northern McLean.

Starting tomorrow (Friday), crews will spend the hours between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. each day pouring concrete on the surfaces of the Dead Run and Turkey Run bridges, the National Park Service announced on Tuesday (Aug. 22).

“Nightwork will occur intermittently through early September,” the NPS said in a news alert. “Work will occur on one bridge at a time. One lane of travel will be open in each direction; no additional lane closures are anticipated for this work.”

The agency advises drivers to “observe traffic signs, respect the 40-mph speed limit, and watch for crews working along the parkway,” noting that construction signage and message boards will be placed along the roadway.

“In the event of inclement weather, night work will be postponed to the following night,” the NPS said. “Motorists should anticipate delays and plan for additional travel time or consider taking an alternate route.”

The construction work is part of the GW Parkway rehabilitation project, a $161 million effort to upgrade the aging roadway first built in 1962. The project includes asphalt repaving, a redesign of the Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) interchange, stormwater management system repairs, extensions of some entrance and exit lanes, and improvements to stone walls, roadside barriers and historic overlooks.

Construction began in July 2022 and is expected to continue into December 2025.