Ramp To I-66 Near Vienna Metro Permanently Closes

VIENNA, VA — A ramp to eastbound Interstate 66 near the Vienna Metro station permanently closed the night of Wednesday, Sept. 4 according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

With the closure of the Saintsbury Drive ramp, drivers are directed to use the Nutley Street interchange to I-66. The Saintsbury ramp had been an alternative to the busy Nutley Street ramps.

The Saintsbury Drive ramp closure is one impacts of the project adding Express Lanes on I-66 outside the Beltway. In addition, the Vaden Drive bridge over I-66—connecting the north and south sides of the Vienna Metro station—will be closed for about 10 months beginning in October. The bridge will be rebuilt with added bus and car-only express lanes access ramps to and from the west.

Once the Vaden Drive bridge closure starts, the Saintsbury Drive ramp will only be open to buses during weekday peak periods. Access to the north and south Vienna Metrorail Station parking garages will remain open to traffic, as well as the ramp from westbound I-66 to Country Creek Road.

VDOT plans to make signal timing improvements to the intersection of Saintsbury Drive and Nutley Street due to extra traffic from the Vaden Drive bridge closure.

Another major change coming will be a Nutley Street interchange, but VDOT says major work would not happen until the Vaden Drive bridge work is done.

The Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project includes adding 22.5 miles of I-66 Express Lanes from the Capital Beltway to University Boulevard in Gainesville. The Express Lanes are anticipated to open to traffic in late 2022.