To make things smoother for northbound traffic on I-495/95, the Virginia Department of Transportation widened the ramp and merge lanes early Wednesday, Jan. 30 for cars going from I-95 north to I-495, the "outer loop," toward the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. Motorists will now have two lanes leading into the beltway. In addition, they are opening a new portion of the railroad bridge and shifting traffic to cross that bridge before returning to the old configured 12-foot outer loop beltway lanes. Motorists traveling on the outer loop will notice a shift to the right just after the I-95/395 north overpass and after the railroad bridge will shift back to the left. The shift will be in place for about a year and will change