Vehicles traveling from Maryland to Virginia crept sluggishly in one lane across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge for much of yesterday as construction crews paved the way for the opening of the bridge's second span. The first cars crossed the new westbound route about 7 p.m. Construction paused for more than an hour during an afternoon downpour, and a collision earlier in the day snarled bridge traffic. But project officials had said by late afternoon that they were on track. Yesterday, traffic flow played out as predicted: slow, but not as bad as it might have been given that a three-lane bridge approach was narrowed to one lane for three miles. For most of the day, a column of semis, sedans and motorcycles stretched about two miles, adding approximately 90 minutes to the river crossing, officials said.

• washingtonpost.com