Traffic in Maryland on the Inner Loop of the Capital Beltway was backed up for more than 18 hours following heavy rain late Tuesday night and flooding that persisted through most of Wednesday. Shortly before midnight, a tractor-trailer jackknifed in high standing water on the Inner Loop before River Road (Exit 39). Authorities blocked all lanes for a short time early Wednesday morning, but through the afternoon, the left lane remained blocked. There appeared to be an issue with the drainage.
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A spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Transportation said Wednesday evening that “crews were continuing to work to remove remaining water and identify the cause of the conditions.” Crews started reopening the left lane around 6 p.m. Wednesday.
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It took some drivers more than an hour to drive from Route 7 in Virginia to River Road. There were significant backups throughout the morning and afternoon at the Chain Bridge and Key Bridge, as drivers tried to use bridges other than the American Legion Bridge to cross the Potomac River. Below is the area where it happened. [google_map latitude=”38.99470060874898″ longitude=”-77.15830685912456″ zoom=”13″ height=”300px” location_label=”River Road” dynamic_map=”true”] WTOP’s Abigail Constantino contributed to this report.
