Fourth of July celebrations will deliver their annual dose of chaos to downtown D.C. on Thursday as roads, bridges and other areas close and transit options change.
Around noon, the National Independence Day Parade will bring a procession of bands, floats, military and specialty units, and celebrities that will block a stretch of Constitution Avenue NW. Thousands will fill the National Mall in the evening to watch the annual fireworks display, which the National Park Service claims will be “one of the most spectacular in recent memory."
Here’s what you need to know to get around D.C. on Thursday.
Metro rides will be free after 5 p.m. Thursday
Thousands will inundate Metrorail stations as they head to the Mall for Fourth of July festivities. Beginning at 5 p.m. on Thursday, the Metro will offer free rides on all rail and bus lines and on paratransit services. Parking in Metro-owned garages and lots will also be free.
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The waived fares will be in effect until midnight, when the rail system closes. Metrorail fare gates will be open and riders will not need SmarTrip cards to use the transit system.
Metro is increasing service on some rail lines all day to relieve congestion. The Red Line — along which four stations are shuttered for summer construction — will offer trains every six minutes. Other train lines will operate on normal schedules until 5 p.m. Then trains on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines will arrive every 10 minutes, and trains on the Green and Yellow lines will operate every six minutes.
The agency warns that the Smithsonian Metrorail station could become overcrowded after fireworks end, and suggests riders use nearby stations, including Metro Center, Federal Triangle, Archives, Gallery Place and Union Station. The Foggy Bottom station, which is also nearby, could become “entry only” after the fireworks to prevent congestion. The Arlington Cemetery station, another alternative to the Smithsonian station, will be open until midnight.
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Metrobus riders who use the following lines should consider using Metrorail instead, as the buses will travel through tough-to-navigate routes that could cause delays on Thursday: 16E, 38B, 33, 32, 36, 42, 43, 52, 64, 70, 74, 79, 90, 92, G12, G14, P6, S2 and X2.
Access to the Mall
There will be four public entry points for visitors on foot directly to the Mall, open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.:
- 17th Street SW, just south of the World War II Memorial
- 15th Street NW at Madison Drive NW
- 15th Street SW at Jefferson Drive SW
- Constitution Avenue NW between 23rd Street NW and Henry Bacon Drive NW
Two other access points do not lead directly onto the Mall:
- East Basin Drive at Inlet Bridge, west of the Jefferson Memorial
- West side of Arlington Memorial Bridge
Fireworks can also be viewed from these locations along George Washington Memorial Parkway:
- The U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial and the Netherlands Carillon
- Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on Lady Bird Johnson Park (Access to the Potomac riverfront is possible via the bike/pedestrian tunnel that runs underneath the Boundary Channel Bridge, a.k.a. the “Humpback Bridge”)
- Gravelly Point, north of Reagan National Airport
- Washington Sailing Marina at Daingerfield Island
Road closures
The following roads will be closed from 4 a.m. Thursday to around midnight, according to the National Park Service:
- Arlington Memorial Bridge and Arlington Memorial Circle, to and including Lincoln Memorial Circle
- Rock Creek Parkway south of Virginia Avenue NW to Lincoln Memorial Circle, including all approaches and ramps
- Parkway Drive from Rock Creek Parkway to Lincoln Memorial Circle
- Henry Bacon Drive NW from Constitution Avenue to Lincoln Memorial Circle
- Daniel Chest French Drive SW from Independence Avenue SW to Lincoln Memorial Circle
- Lincoln Memorial Circle and all approaches and ramps into and out of Lincoln Memorial Circle, including Henry Bacon Drive NW, Daniel Chester French Drive SW, 23rd Street NW and 23rd Street SW
- The ramp from the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge to Constitution Avenue NW and Independence Avenue SW and Ohio Drive SW; all inbound traffic from the bridge will be directed to the E Street Expressway
- Constitution Avenue NW from 23rd Street NW to 15th Street NW
- 23rd Street SW from Independence Ave SW to Lincoln Memorial Circle and Constitution Avenue to Lincoln Memorial Circle
- 17th St NW from Constitution Ave NW to Independence Ave SW
- Homefront Drive SW
- 15th Street NW from Constitution Avenue NW to Independence Avenue SW
- Raoul Wallenberg Place SW to Maine Avenue SW
- Independence Avenue SW from 14th Street SW to 23rd Street SW, including the merge with Rock Creek Parkway
- Ohio Drive SW from 23rd Street SW to Inlet Bridge
- Madison Drive NW from 15th Street NW to 3rd Street NW
- Jefferson Drive SW from 15th Street SW to 3rd Street SW
- East Basin Drive SW east of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial to Ohio Drive SW
- West Basin Drive SW from Ohio Drive SW to Independence Avenue SW
- The ramp from southbound and northbound George Washington Memorial Parkway to Memorial Avenue
- The ramp from northbound Virginia Route 110 to Memorial Avenue
- The ramp from Virginia Route 27 to Memorial Avenue
- The right lane of northbound George Washington Memorial Parkway from the 14th Street Bridge to Theodore Roosevelt Island
The following routes are closed from Thursday at 3 p.m. to around midnight:
- Eastbound Route 50 ramps to George Washington Memorial Parkway and roads in the immediate area of the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial
- Southbound and northbound George Washington Memorial Parkway ramp to 14th Street Bridge
- Access to East Potomac Park from I-395 will be by National Park Service permit only after 4 p.m.
Concurrently, the District will close several streets for parades across the city:
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The following streets will be closed for the Palisades Parade from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.:
- MacArthur Boulevard from Whitehaven Parkway to Arizona Avenue NW
- Edmunds Place from Sherier Place to MacArthur Boulevard NW
- Sherier Place from Edmunds Place to Dana Place NW
The following streets will be closed for the Barracks Row Parade from 8 a.m. to noon:
- Eighth Street SE from Pennsylvania Avenue to Virginia Avenue
- D Street SE from Seventh Street to Eighth Street
The following streets will be closed for the Takoma Park Parade from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.:
- Carroll Street NW from the D.C.-Maryland border to Maple Street NW
- Maple Street NW from Carroll Street NW to the D.C.-Maryland border
The Third Street Tunnel will remain open for travel into and out of the city.
Site closures
The following sites will be closed or operate with alternate hours over the Fourth of July:
- The National Mall will be closed between 14th Street and the Lincoln Memorial from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday for a security sweep. Visitors who enter the area after 1 p.m. will be screened.
- The Lincoln Memorial, including the steps and access ramp, will be closed on Thursday.
- The Washington Monument will close at 1 p.m. on Wednesday and reopen at 9 a.m. Friday.
- Access to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial will be limited after 8 p.m. The memorial will remain open, but the public will not be able to access it from Independence Avenue after 8 p.m. Access will be available from West Basin and Ohio drives.
- The World War II Memorial will close at 4 p.m. Thursday. Cleanup of the memorial will begin immediately following the fireworks show, and the site will open after the cleanup is complete.
- Paddle boats at the Tidal Basin will not operate Thursday.
- Big Bus Tours will not operate on the Mall on Thursday.
- The D.C. Circulator’s National Mall route will not operate Thursday.
- East Potomac Tennis Center will close at 3 p.m. Thursday.
correction
An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that the Arlington Cemetery Metro station would be open until 11 p.m. on Thursday. It will be open until midnight. The article has been corrected.
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