Traffic

Accident Shuts Down WB Arlington Boulevard

By ARLnow.com

Accident on Route 50 and Henderson Road (photo via comments section)

Update at 9:45 a.m. — Arlington County reports that all lanes have reopened.

 All westbound lanes and two eastbound lanes of Arlington Boulevard (Route 50) are shut down due to an accident, according to Arlington County’s Office of Emergency Management.

The accident happened near the intersection with Henderson Road. A vintage Corvette and two other vehicles were reportedly involved in the accident, according to Twitter users.

Commuters should expect significant delays in both directions. Metro says 4A and 4B buses are experiencing delays up to 20 minutes in both directions as a result of the accident.

Photo via comments section

I-66 Eastbound Shut Down Due to Accident

By Ethan Rothstein

Crash on I-66Update at 1:20 p.m. — Arlington County announced that a tow truck is on scene and all lanes of traffic should open shortly.

All lanes of I-66 eastbound at N. Sycamore Street are currently shut down as police and firefighters clear the scene of a multi-vehicle accident.

Virginia State Police, and Arlington County police and fire and rescue workers responded just before 12:30 p.m. to a three-car crash, including one of the cars suffering a head-on collision, according to scanner traffic.

At least one driver was injured in the crash and required medical transport, but it’s unclear the extent of the driver’s injuries at this time.

Traffic is reportedly getting by on the left shoulder, but drivers should avoid the area for the time being.

Concrete Crosswalks in Ballston Deteriorating

By Ethan Rothstein

Crosswalk at Fairfax Drive and N. Stuart Street (courtesy photo)(Updated at 1:10 p.m.)The concrete, brick-like crosswalks that cross Fairfax Drive in Ballston and other main roads around Arlington are susceptible to disrepair and are more costly to fix than an average sidewalk.

The crosswalks, called “pavers,” were installed by the county on VDOT roads like Fairfax Drive, Lee Highway and Columbia Pike. They were built roughly 20 years ago as part of a county project to try to construct a brick-like crosswalk without material as fragile as the clay that bricks are made from.

“When brick sidewalks in old cities were in vogue, the industry developed concrete pavers as a flexible and durable surface for sidewalks that could adapt to tree roots without cracking and looked attractive in many areas,” county Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Jennifer Heilman told ARLnow.com. “However, the heavy volumes of large vehicles such as what is typical of Fairfax Drive and most major arterials where Arlington has such crosswalks installed have made them very difficult to maintain as they’ve aged and become more prone to failure.”

Heilman said the crosswalks, like the one on N. Stuart Street crossing Fairfax Drive, captured by an ARLnow.com tipster in a state of disrepair on Tuesday, costs $20 per square foot to repair, which is four times the cost of repairing a standard concrete sidewalk.

Because of this winter’s extreme weather, the many crosswalks have been repaired with asphalt, like the ones at Lee Highway and N. Military Road and Columbia Pike at S. Walter Reed Drive. In high-density areas like Ballston that see a comparatively high volume of car and foot traffic over the crosswalks, developers and property owners contribute to the repair of the crosswalks through a county pedestrian maintenance program.

The crosswalk above, however, was repaired quickly by the county because it’s near a major transit hub. Heilman said there are 70 crosswalks with concrete pavers in the county at 35 intersections, but there are no plans to install any more in the future. Residents can report crosswalk failures to DES online.

Courtesy photo

Rt. 50/10th Street/Courthouse Road Ramps to Open This Month

By Ethan Rothstein

Bridge from Courthouse Road to EB Route 50 now openSeveral ramps that have been under construction for years as part the Route 50, N. Courthouse Road and 10th Street N. interchange project are scheduled to open later this month.

The ramps from 10th Street to eastbound Route 50 and from N. Fairfax Drive to westbound Route 50, along with a new ramp from Courthouse Road to westbound Route 50, are scheduled to open Friday, April 25, according to Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer McCord.

The westbound frontage from Route 50 to 10th Street N. will still have barriers on it but will open a few weeks later, McCord said.

There will still be some intermittent lane closures on Route 50 until the project wraps up by July, McCord said. The $39 million interchange began construction in April 2011 and was originally scheduled to be completed by fall of 2013, but the project was delayed, apparently to make sure traffic could continue to flow on Route 50 during construction.

File photo

RV Fire Closes Southbound Route 1 in Crystal City

By Ethan Rothstein
1/6

Update at 10:25 a.m. — One southbound lane of Route 1 has reopened, according to Arlington County. A tow truck is on scene and all lanes are expected to reopen shortly.

An RV has caught fire on southbound Route 1 in Crystal City, causing police to shut down the southbound lanes to traffic at the tail end of this morning’s rush hour.

The fire started just before 9:00 a.m., according to scanner traffic, on the highway near the intersection with 15th Street S. The Arlington County Fire Department and Virginia State Police were the first responders to the scene.

According to ACFD spokeswoman Lt. Sarah Marchegiani, three people were inside the RV when the fire started, but they all escaped the vehicle safely and no injuries were reported. The fire is believed to have been caused by a mechanical failure in the engine block, Marchegiani said.

“The driver didn’t notice the fire at first, just that the car was acting funny and he smelled smoke,” Marchegiani told ARLnow.com. “They happened to pass by a Virginia State Police officer who saw that the car was on fire and flagged them down.”

The roadway will remain closed temporarily. Drivers should avoid the area if possible.

Major Backups on EB I-66 Due to TR Bridge Damage

By ARLnow.com
1/2

(Updated at 5:30 p.m.) Traffic on eastbound I-66 was backed up to the Beltway this morning due to roadway damage on the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge.

A photo sent to ARLnow.com from an I-66 commuter shows a section of roadway that has sunk a foot or more, creating a large gap. The damage is located on the east end of the bridge at the E Street exit, we’re told. In a tweet, DDOT says one lane is closed as a result.

That lane closure is causing big problems: even at 10:30 a.m. traffic on eastbound I-66 was very slow inside the Beltway, which in turn caused backups on Arlington arterial roadways that lead to the highway.

DDOT spokesman Reggie Sanders says the damage was caused by a “utility cut in the roadway.” As of 5:30 p.m., DDOT had installed metal plates over the damaged section.

Heavy Traffic on I-395 After Truck Accident

By ARLnow.com

Accident involving a truck on I-395 Accident involving a truck on I-395

(Updated at 9:35 a.m.) Traffic on northbound I-395 is slow from the Beltway to Arlington due to an accident involving a truck near the Pentagon.

A truck slammed into the jersey wall and a light pole in main line northbound lanes, just before the 14th Street Bridge. Crews are working to get the truck down from the jersey wall.

Two lanes are blocked as a result of the accident.

Road Closures for Crystal City 5K Fridays

By Ethan Rothstein

Crystal City 5K Friday (photo via Crystal City BID)Parts of Crystal Drive and Potomac Avenue will be closing this evening and the following three Fridays to make way for the Crystal Run 5K Fridays.

Starting at 6:30 p.m. tonight and on the evenings of April 11, 18 and 25, the race will kick off at 2121 Crystal Drive and run 3.1 miles from Crystal Drive, down to Potomac Avenue, up to 12th Street S. and back.

Registration for the races are $20 each or $60 for the series and runners can pick up their packets and bibs by the start line. The races are a USATF-approved course and use the same timing tag as most other races.

Below are the street closures the next four Fridays, starting at 6:00 p.m. and opening back up at 8:00 p.m. Street parking in the area will also be restricted, with “No Parking” signs posted around the course.

  • Northbound lanes of Crystal Drive between 23rd Street and 12th Street S.
  • Northbound lanes of Crystal Drive between 26th Street and Potomac Avenue/27th Street S.
  • Northbound lanes of Potomac Avenue between 27th Street and 33rd Street S.
  • One southbound lane of Potomac Avenue between 27th Street and 33rd Street S.
  • One westbound lane of 12th Street S. between Crystal Drive and Long Bridge Drive/S. Clark Street
  • One lane of Long Bridge Drive northbound will be closed for approximately 100 feet (Police will cone a new northbound lane and a southbound lane to maintain access)

Photo via Crystal City BID. Disclosure: Crystal City BID is an ARLnow.com advertiser

Rosslyn Road Shut Down Due to Gas Leak

By ARLnow.com
1/4

(Updated at 2:30 p.m.) A road in Rosslyn has been shut down due to a gas leak.

Currently, 19th Street N. is closed between Lynn Street and N. Kent Street. We’re told a 2-inch high pressure gas line was ruptured. Police and firefighters are on the scene, waiting for Washington Gas to make repairs.

As of 2:20 p.m. the gas had been shut off and the road was being reopened to pedestrians. However, traffic restrictions are expected to remain in place.

Road Closed After School Bus Hits Utility Pole

By ARLnow.com
1/5

Williamsburg Boulevard is closed between N. Somerset Street and N. Rochester Street due to a school bus that hit a utility pole.

It appears that the top of the bus clipped the pole, which is located directly adjacent to the street. The accident snapped the top of the pole. Dominion Power is responding to the scene to repair the pole and the power lines.

No children were on the Arlington Public Schools bus at the time and no injuries have been reported. No word yet on whether the driver will be cited for the accident.

Williamsburg Boulevard is expected to remain closed for part of the day while Dominion crews repair the lines. Some local power outages are also expected.

Crews Go on Pothole Patrol in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County has stepped up it pothole repair effort this year due to the harsh winter.

County crews were out filling potholes in response to resident requests this weekend, after spending the week plowing snow and cleaning equipment, according to Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Robyn Mincher. One of the stretches of road where crews worked “extensively” was the 2200 block of N. Harrison Street, where numerous potholes were reported.

The county has up to five times as many employees working potholes repairs this winter, Mincher said.

“We have five teams, about 35 employees, in our streets maintenance section concentrating on either potholes or snow,” she told ARLnow.com. “In lighter winters, we would typically have one team assigned to potholes.”

“We anticipate continuing to concentrate on potholes [this] week, and assessing over the next few weeks our needs for later in the spring,” she added.

In addition to responding to problem reports from residents — there have been more than a dozen pothole reports in the past 24 hours — crews are also “fixing other potholes we find along our travels,” Mincher said.

Video via Arlington TV

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