A memorial motorcycle ride honoring the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks will mean big delays on and around Interstate 66 on Friday afternoon.
Virginia State Police will escort an estimated 1,800 riders who are all a part of this year’s America’s 9/11 Foundation, Inc. memorial ride, which is expected to enter the state from Maryland about 2 p.m. at Leesburg. The precession is expected to take between an hour and hour and a half, and will travel U.S. 15 to Dulles Greenway east to Dulles Toll Road east.
The motorcyclists will travel in the far left lane and be cordoned off by orange cones, while drivers will travel in the right lane, said Virginia State Police spokeswoman Deborah Cox.
From Dulles Toll Road, the bikers will travel onto I-66 bound for Arlington. While the bikers are on the highway, no drivers will be able to use I-66 east between the Capital Beltway to Va. 110 in Arlington, said Cox.
All entrance ramps to the highway between those two points will also be closed to traffic, she added.
State police say drivers needing to get into Washington should take the Beltway to U.S. 50 east or to George Washington Memorial Parkway.
Friday’s ride will culminate with a free concert from country star Aaron Tippin, according to the organization’s website.
America’s 9/11 Foundation, Inc. is based in Leesburg and works to fund scholarships for the children of emergency personnel.
The entire ride begins on Thursday in Somerset, Pa., the crash site of one of the planes destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, and will end Saturday at the World Trade Center site in New York City.
