Though the federal government is still closed, that won’t stop the National Park Service from tackling tree maintenance along the southern portion of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
The agency resumed work to evaluate and trim trees along the roadway south of Alexandria last week, requiring lane closures starting today (Monday) through Friday, Nov. 21.
During that period, the parkway’s southbound lanes will be closed between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. from Tulane Drive in Belle Haven to Morningside Lane in Fort Hunt, a roughly 1.1-mile stretch of road. Drivers will be directed to a detour on Park Terrace Drive.
“These closures support the National Park Service’s mission to preserve safe access to the parkway while protecting the scenic and natural resources along the Potomac River corridor,” the NPS said.
The work will include “routine cutbacks and clearing to maintain safe sightlines and road conditions,” the park service said. Crews will also assess trees throughout the corridor to determine whether any need to be removed due to their health or potential to pose hazards.
The NPS announced on Sept. 22 that it would begin conducting tree maintenance in the corridor after more than 50 trees were reportedly felled or damaged by a storm in May. Two different drivers died after trees fell down on their vehicles during the storm.
The tree maintenance work was expected to take approximately eight weeks, but it’s unclear whether it has been disrupted by weather or the government shutdown.
According to the park service, temporary single-lane closures will be required in both directions at different points, but the agency is making “every effort to limit these disruptions during peak rush hour travel.”
Construction is also continuing on the northern section of the parkway, which is getting rehabilitated for the first time since it was constructed in the 1960s. The project is expected to wrap up by the end of 2025.
The parks in the GW Parkway corridor — including Great Falls Park, Turkey Run Park, Riverside Park and Fort Hunt Park in Fairfax County — have all been closed since Oct. 20 because Congress hasn’t renewed the National Park Service’s funding.
The first signs of a potential end to the government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, emerged last night when a small group of Senate Democrats joined most of their Republican colleagues to advance a funding package. However, Democratic opposition to a deal without an extension of health care subsidies remains high, suggesting the already-record-long standoff could be further dragged out.
