3-hour delays on I-495 in northern Virginia after roadwork, disabled tractor-trailer

Late-clearing roadwork and a disabled tractor-trailer created a traffic nightmare for commuters in northern Virginia on Wednesday morning resulting in gridlock that stretched for miles and delays of up to three-hours.

The slowdowns were first reported around 5 a.m. along both the northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 495 in the McLean area near the George Washington Parkway.

The delayed construction cleanup forced traffic to a halt.

All lanes of the Capital Beltway leading to the American Legion Bridge temporarily came to a standstill and traffic in other areas was reduced to just one lane.

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3-hour delays on I-495 in northern Virginia after roadwork, disabled tractor-trailer

Delays from the construction cleanup lasted late into the 7 a.m. hour.

At around the same time, a disabled tractor-trailer along the outer loop of I-495 SB on the American Legion Bridge closed three lanes before the I-95 Interchange in Prince George's County.

The traffic nightmare created delays of up to three hours in some places.