This weekend is likely to be less rainy than the past few days, but that doesn’t mean travelers will be romping around in fine weather. The Capital Weather Gang’s forecast includes rain both Saturday and Sunday. Look for clearing Monday and a sunny Tuesday.  Check back with us before heading out to weekend activities. The schedules for several major events have been revised. Memorials marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks have been shifted from the Washington National Cathedral to other venues. “A Concert for Hope,” the memorial event that includes a speech by President Obama, is now scheduled for the Kennedy Center at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.  The Nation’s Triathlon, an annual event scheduled for Sunday morning and early afternoon in the District and Maryland, will skip the swim portion of the program because of Potomac River turbulence.  Meanwhile, football is back. Howard University and Morehouse College renew their rivalry at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in RFK Stadium. The Redskins begin their regular season at 4:15 p.m. Sunday at FedEx Field.  Other outdoor activities planned for the weekend include the Maryland Seafood Festival on Saturday and Sunday at Sandy Point State Park, jazz festivals in Rosslyn and Silver Spring parks Saturday, the King Street Festival of the Arts in Alexandria on Saturday and Sunday, and Adams Morgan Day on Sunday.  Here are more highlights of events and activities that could affect your travel plans over the weekend and into next week.  Many of the weekend’s sporting and entertainment events are easy to reach via Metro, but keep in mind the delays on most lines, especially if you’re transferring trains. The transit authority plans maintenance work on the Red, Blue, Orange and Green lines from 10 p.m. Friday through the train system’s midnight closing on Sunday.  Red Line: Trains will share a track between Dupont Circle and Judiciary Square to allow utility work and ceiling repairs at Farragut North, replacement of rail fasteners and installation of emergency phones and communication cables to expand cellphone coverage.  On Saturday and Sunday between 9:30 a.m. and 9 p.m., trains will depart every 10 minutes from the ends of the line at Shady Grove and Glenmont. Every other train leaving Shady Grove will end at Dupont Circle, while every other train leaving Glenmont will end at Union Station,  At all other times, Red Line trains will depart about every 20 minutes from Shady Grove and Glenmont. The last train from Glenmont will leave 11 minutes earlier than usual, 2:26 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and 11:26 p.m. Sunday.  Add at least a half hour to your normal travel times.  Blue and Orange lines: Trains will share a track between Eastern Market and Stadium-Armory as crews install rails and make other improvements. Orange Line trains will single track between Vienna and West Falls Church while personnel replace cross ties and insulators.  Trains on both lines will depart the end terminals approximately every 20 minutes. Add at least 20 minutes to normal travel times.  Green Line: Trains will share a track between Greenbelt and College Park while workers install rails and perform other maintenance. Add at least 20 minutes to normal travel times.  Some bus routes will detour this weekend because of scheduled events.  Saturday: Routes 7A, 7F, 9A, 10A, 16B, 16J, 23A, and 25A will detour from 6 to 8 p.m. around Army Navy Drive, South Eads Street and North Perimeter Drive for a 5K race.  Sunday: Routes 90, 92, 93, 96 and L2 will detour from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. around 18th Street NW between Florida Avenue and Columbia Road for the Adams Morgan Day Festival.  Routes 7A, 7F, 16B and 16J will detour from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. around Rotary Drive in Arlington for Pentagon activities.  Routes 13F and 13G will detour from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. around 23rd Street NW between Constitution Avenue and Memorial Circle for the Nation’s Triathlon.  Routes 32 and 36 will detour from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. around Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 13th and 14th streets for the 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.  The annual triathlon — minus the swim this year — will close many roads near the Potomac River and in downtown D.C. on Sunday morning and early in the afternoon.  The start and finish line for the 2011 Nation’s Triathlon will be in West Potomac Park. It’s scheduled to start at 7 a.m. Sunday and end by 2 p.m. after the athletes bike along D.C. and Maryland roads near the river and run through downtown D.C.  The crowds and the street closings are likely to disrupt traffic along the Potomac and around the Mall.  The race will begin along Ohio Drive in a time trial start, with competitors entering the transition area, mounting bikes and beginning the bike portion of the race.  The bike course starts along Independence Avenue and athletes will head east on Independence, do a U-turn after the Tidal Basin, then head west on Independence. They go straight onto Ohio Drive northbound and then exit north onto the Potomac River Freeway.  Then they exit west onto Whitehurst Freeway, turn left on M Street and left on Canal Road until they merge onto Clara Barton Parkway heading west.  They turn around on Carderock Bridge and head back on Clara Barton to Canal to M to the Whitehurst and south on the Potomac River Freeway. They turn right onto Rock Creek Parkway, turn around at F Street past the Kennedy Center, go south on Rock Creek Parkway and move straight onto Ohio Drive.  Then they go onto Independence Avenue into the transition area. For the run, they leave the transition area heading east on Independence Avenue and then turn right heading south on Maine Avenue.  They turn right onto 15th heading north and turn around on 15th Street just before Constitution Avenue. They head south on 15th and cross over Maine and then turn right on Ohio Drive, turn left to stay on Ohio and then loop around Haines Point. They turn left over the Inlet Bridge and finish on Ohio Drive adjacent to West Potomac Park. See a map of the course, but note that the swim is canceled.  From 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the right ramp lane from Leesburg Pike (Route 7) east and west onto the Capital Beltway’s outer loop is to be closed for work on sound walls. The ramp lane closing will extend onto the outer loop just past the Route 7 merge.  Route 7 drivers still will have access to the outer loop, but should be extra cautious when merging. Drivers on both Route 7 and the outer loop may encounter periodic delays approaching the interchange.  A portion of the far right northbound lane in the 400 block of North Washington Street in Falls Church will be temporarily closed to traffic between East Columbia and East Jefferson streets Monday through Friday. Turns onto East Jefferson from North Washington Street will be restricted. This closing will clear room for emergency repairs on an electrical pole.  The City of Falls Church also plans to install electronic speed readout signs at 11 locations throughout the city starting Monday. The signs, familiar to drivers across the D.C. region, have an LED display screen, mounted on a single pole and powered by solar energy.  The District Department of Transportation may close lanes during off-peak travel times on the 11th Street Bridge, nearby ramps, portions of I-295/DC 295 and local streets through Nov. 23 to accommodate the reconstruction of the bridge over the Anacostia River.  Watch for right lane closings on the northbound George Washington Parkway between Spout Run Parkway and the First Overlook, where the National Park Service is repairing landslide damage.  The lane closings will occur between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. weekdays. All lanes will remain open during rush hours, and at other times, at least one lane will be open in each direction.  Watch for overnight lane closings on the Capital Beltway in Silver Spring where the Maryland State Highway Administration is rehabilitating the Northwest Branch bridge.  Single and double lane closings can occur between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays. Between midnight and 5 a.m. Mondays through Fridays, three lanes may be closed.  The highway administration also is beginning a resurfacing project on the Beltway between Route 29 and Seminary Road. Single lane closings can occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays. Double and triple lane closings may occur from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays.  Another resurfacing project is underway on the inner loop between D’Arcy Road and Route 5 (Branch Avenue). From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, single lanes may be closed. From 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. weekdays two lanes may be closed, and three may be closed between midnight and 5 a.m.  The Fillmore concert hall on Colesville Road (Route 29) in Silver Spring is scheduled to open at 7 p.m. Thursday. That’s likely to increase traffic in the area around the Colesville Road/Georgia Avenue intersection.  There’s plenty of public parking nearby. The Montgomery County garages are free on evenings, weekends and county holidays. These are a few in easy walking distance:  The Wayne Avenue garage near the corner or Georgia Avenue and Wayne Avenue (free after 6 p.m.), the Town Square Garage on the northeast corner of Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street (free after 6 p.m.) and the Cameron Garage, with entrances on Cameron and Spring streets (free after 7 p.m.)
The rain will decrease over the weekend as travelers head to many sporting and entertainment events throughout the region. Here’s a guide to some traffic and transit issues along the way.