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Days after the Washington region experienced its most intense storm of the year, crews along George Washington Memorial Parkway are picking up hundreds of tons of fallen tree logs and debris that prompted a stretch of the busy commuter route to close.
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The National Park Service reopened the northbound lane Tuesday, while the southbound lane is expected to be available Wednesday as the agency clears debris from Saturday’s storm. All lanes of nearby Spout Run Parkway also were expected to reopen Tuesday, Park Service officials said.
The storm, which brought winds up to 80 mph across the Washington area, severely damaged homes, power lines and the scenic roadway along the Potomac River, leading to a days-long regional recovery. The toppled trees were another blow to commuters and the historic route itself, which has been under construction as part of a $161 million renovation expected to finish in late 2025.
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Christopher Hershey, chief of staff for the parkway, said Tuesday that crews had repaired or removed 325 trees as of Monday afternoon, taking away more than 500 tons of wood and debris.
“It was probably the worst storm that we’ve seen in years here,” he said. “We’re certainly reacting to it in real time, and it’s something that we responded to as quickly as we could, just to make sure that people driving the parkway don’t approach something.”
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While the commuter headache is coming to a close, crews were continuing to clear debris or loose limbs from trees — especially in areas where greenery is canopied over the road.
Officials said their first priority has been ensuring the route is safe for drivers, then working to address the landscape of the adjacent wooded areas. The midday Tuesday reopening of the northbound lane between Spout Run Parkway and Chain Bridge Road alleviated some of the hassles of the morning commute, when most northern sections of the road were off-limits to drivers.
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Ted Miller, a chauffeur with Reston Limousine, a bus and limo service, said drivers were returning to the Parkway on Tuesday after facing traffic delays on alternate routes.
“That parkway is a critical artery for our jobs,” he said.
Elsewhere across the region, the storm forced the closure of several streets in upper Northwest Washington. Canal Road remained closed Tuesday between Foxhall Road and Reservoir Road, while part of Loughboro Road also was blocked off. Arizona Avenue had limited access between Loughboro and Canal Road for cleanup.
In Maryland, Montgomery County officials said Tuesday that county crews had cleared more than 160 fallen trees, including two that fell on houses. Crews also secured areas for at least 31 downed live electrical wires.
Here’s what caused Saturday’s destructive storms in the D.C. area
Downed trees and limbs on the National Mall will be turned into wood chips that will be spread throughout the area, officials said.
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Along George Washington Parkway, recovery efforts for Saturday’s storm began Sunday, when the National Park Service brought in about 10 crews to pick up fallen debris and assess the damage.
On Tuesday, dozens of front-loaders and bulldozers were picking up loose tree branches from the sides of the road. Bark on some trees was gone, either ripped off during the storm or shaved off after the Park Service deemed it at risk.
“We want people to be safe on the parkway and make sure if there’s any debris, it’s removed and they can travel safely,” Hershey said.
He said the work had resulted in 100 dump truck loads of logs and 15 chipper truck loads as of Monday. Numbers from Tuesday weren’t available.
The parkway is particularly vulnerable to damage because of its large, aging trees. There are 99 species of trees documented throughout the parkway corridor, according to the Park Service website.
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“With this sort of downburst, you then have these beautiful, tall, old trees,” Hershey said. “And things break.”
The repair project is being funded by the Park Service and National Capital Parks-East, a unit of the National Park Service that has been assisting in deploying crews to work on repairs. An initial assessment included a helicopter crew flying over the area to get a broad look at damage. It’s unclear how long the entire repair process will take, Hershey said.
Hershey said the next phase will include reviewing whether the repair work presents any risk to people, property or landscape. Officials would then move into a recovery phase to focus on long-term sustainability efforts, which could last up to a year. A funding source for those final two phases hasn’t been determined, and officials haven’t estimated the total cost of repairs.
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Miller, who said he makes at least a dozen trips on the parkway weekly, said congestion, closures or delays can put him at risk of being late to pick up clients. The latest disruptions are coming amid a years-long overhaul of the parkway’s northern stretch, which is intended to extend the life of a section of a road that sees about 70,000 vehicles daily.
George Washington Parkway lane restrictions to expand this weekend
“It’s been a very difficult place to be because of those closures,” he said.
Saturday’s storm swept across the region in the early evening, bringing torrential rain and wind in excess of 80 mph, fueled by the week’s exceptionally hot weather. A Virginia man died when a tree fell on a home. The felled trees damaged several houses and cars, while winds knocked out power to thousands.
Along the parkway, Hershey said, it will be a long road to recovery, even as drivers are returning.
“There has been significant damage,” he said.
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