The State Highway Administration closed two lanes of northbound Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase on Wednesday and expects them to be closed until late Thursday night while emergency paving is done on the roadway.
Then the agency plans to close two lanes on the southbound side to repave it Thursday night and during the Friday morning commute.
Both closures likely mean headaches for commuters and the agency has advised drivers to avoid the road, if possible. SHA said in a news release it plans to complete the paving project by Saturday night.
SHA stated that the road closures were needed because after crews milled the top surface of the roadway they determined the pavement underneath was so deteriorated they would need a stronger mix of asphalt than they originally intended to put down. “In order to complete paving and due to the deteriorated condition of the road that made the driving conditions very poor, SHA’s contractor determined closing two-lanes until the paving work could be completed was the only safe option,” SHA wrote in its news release.
SHA estimates that more than 46,000 vehicles use the 1.5 mile section of roadway daily.