Drivers Should Add Extra Commute Time for New Traffic Pattern Adjustment Period; Left Turn Restrictions Will Be in Place at MD 5 /Auth Road Intersection

(October 14, 2016) – On Monday, October 17 before morning rush hour (weather permitting), the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) will partially open Woods Way, a new access road from MD 5 (Branch Avenue) to the Branch Avenue Metro station in Prince George’s County.  The construction work is part of the $38 million MD 5 Phase 2 Metro Access Interchange from Auth Way to south of I-95/I-495 (Capital Beltway).

To open the roadway, drivers and pedestrians should remain alert for three major traffic shifts:

• SHA will deactivate the MD 5/Auth Road traffic signal on Sunday, October 16.  Crews will then place traffic barrier through the intersection.

• Once complete, left turn movements from southbound MD 5 to Auth Road and from Auth Road onto southbound MD 5 will be permanently eliminated.  Right turn movements from northbound MD 5 to Auth Road, and from Auth Road onto northbound MD 5 are permissible.

• Westbound Woods Way between Auth Place and MD 5 will open, so transit users may reach southbound MD 5 via Auth Road, Auth Place, and Woods Way or via Auth Way; westbound Woods Way between the Branch Avenue Metro Station and Auth Place will remain closed.

Once the project is complete, Woods Way will replace Auth Road as the route for motorists to travel between southbound MD 5 and the Branch Avenue Metro Station and its surroundings.

Motorists traveling from the Metro Station may continue to use Auth Road or Auth Way to connect to the I-495 Inner Loop.  Those traveling to the I-495 Outer Loop will need to use Auth Way rather than Auth Road or Woods Way.

Active work continues on the project this fall. Crews are permitted to close one lane in either direction of MD 5, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and two lanes overnight, Sunday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., although additional work hours and lane closures may be necessary to expedite work on the project.