Massive Wilson Bridge project declared two-thirds complete

Officials overseeing the Woodrow Wilson Bridge project--constructing a new I-95 bridge across the Potomac River between Virginia and Maryland--have declared the project 65% complete as the year 2006 came to a close.

"As we hit the two-thirds milestone, still on schedule and on budget, it's appropriate to recognize the full project team--and we include the traveling public and project neighbors as extended partners--for their efforts during the previous six years," said Bob Douglass, Maryland State Highway Administration project manager.

Ronaldo "Nick" Nicholson, who is project manager at the site for the Virginia Department of Transportation, also congratulated contractors working on the site for exceeding national construction safety averages and building "new marvels of engineering." He also thanked commuters for their patience as the work continues.

The first of two spans doubling the capacity of the bridge opened last summer to two-way traffic; when the second span is opened, to one-way traffic on each side, the capacity of the notorious bottleneck will more than double. The improvements are critical because the current 200,000 daily trips across the bridge are projected to grow to 300,000 by 2020.

The project is jointly sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Highway Administration, the Maryland Department of Transportation/State Highway Administration, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the District of Columbia Department of Transportation.