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Cement Spill Cleaned Up in Rosslyn

Published August 12, 2013 at 11:30AM

A cement truck accidentally dumped a small load of cement in the left lane of westbound Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn this morning.

The cement lay on the street for about an hour and a half before crews came to clean it up at approximately 10:30 a.m., according to a police officer at the scene. The cement was still wet when it was removed, avoiding a much longer, more laborious cleanup process had it dried.

The lane of traffic — in front of Artisphere between N. Lynn and Kent Streets — was closed for about 100 feet as the crew worked to clean up the spill.

Crystal Drive Two-Way Delayed Two Days

By ARLnow.com

Published August 5, 2013 at 11:35AM | Updated August 5, 2013 at 12:41PM

(Updated at 12:45 p.m.) The conversion of Crystal Drive from a one-way to a two-way road between 12th Street and 15th Street, in Crystal City, has been delayed.

Two-way traffic was originally slated to start this afternoon, following planned weekend lane striping and painting work. Instead, the conversion has been pushed back until Wednesday.

“The conversion has been delayed for 48 hours due to a scheduling conflict with our subcontractor,” Arlington Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Laura G. Smith confirmed to ARLnow.com this morning. “Work that is yet to be done includes the bicycle lane, sharrows and parking lane markings. The two-way traffic will begin at noon on Wednesday.”

NB I-395 HOV Lanes to Close an Hour Earlier

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 5, 2013 at 9:30AM | Updated August 5, 2013 at 9:52AM

The HOV schedule on I-395 will change by an hour starting today, to help ease congestion caused by various construction projects.

The northbound HOV lanes will now close during the week at 10:00 a.m. rather than 11:00, VDOT announced, and the southbound lanes will open at noon instead of 1:00 p.m.

The change in schedule will be in effect until mid-October “to help ease southbound congestion during construction of the 95 Express Lanes, the 95 Shoulder Lane project in Prince William County, and BRAC related work in the I-395/Seminary Road area along with routine summer road maintenance,” VDOT announced in a press release.

Signature Theatre Hosts Open House For Start of Fall Season

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 2, 2013 at 4:30PM

Signature Theatre in Shirlington kicks off its 2013-2014 season Saturday with its annual, day-long open house featuring performances, workshops and a street festival.

In all, 31 concerts, cabarets, workshops and events will be held from noon to 9:00 p.m. in and around Signature, at 4200 Campbell Avenue.

Throughout the day, there will be outdoor activities for kids like a moon bounce, skeeball and basketball games, as well as free cotton candy and popcorn. To accommodate the festivities, the Arlington County Police Department is closing Campbell Avenue from the Harris Teeter to S. Randolph Street from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

While stopping by the open house, patrons can take in Tony Award nominee Carolee Carmello at 1:15 p.m. on the MAX stage, singing some of her favorite showtunes. At 3:15 p.m., in the Shen room, those interested can talk to the director and cast of this season’s production of Miss Saigon about the ins and outs of putting on the show.

The day wraps up at 8:30 p.m. on the Plaza stage with actors from Signature and Broadway fame singing some of musical theater’s greatest hits. Signature will be tweeting during the day with information on where to pick up tickets for shows and with any changes in the open house’s vast schedule.

Another Portion of Crystal Drive to Open for Two-Way Traffic

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 2, 2013 at 3:30PM | Updated August 5, 2013 at 11:41AM

Crystal Drive opening to two-way traffic

Update on 8/5/13 — The two-way conversion has been delayed until Wednesday.

Starting Monday afternoon, another section of Crystal Drive in Crystal City will be open for two-way traffic.

This weekend, crews with the Department of Environmental Services are expected to finish the final painting and striping on Crystal Drive between 12th and 15th Street S.

The striping is the second-to-last step of the project to make the Crystal Drive corridor open to two-way traffic. The last step is waiting for Dominion Power to energize the traffic signal at S. Clark and 12th Streets. Until that happens, S. Clark and 14th Streets will remain southbound only, DES spokeswoman Laura G. Smith said.

Striping work was underway Friday afternoon and will continue through Saturday and from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday. After 4:00 p.m. Monday, DES expects the stretch of road to open for two-way traffic. Parking is prohibited on Crystal Drive and 12th Street S. while crews are painting.

Car Overturns on GW Parkway, Temporarily Blocking Traffic

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 31, 2013 at 5:15PM

A car overturned Wednesday afternoon on the GW Parkway, temporary shutting down the northbound lanes near Reagan National Airport.

The car flipped around 3:00 p.m. as a result of an accident with at least one other vehicle. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police re-opened the parkway to traffic at 4:20 p.m.

The car is the second to overturn in Arlington Wednesday, following an SUV that flipped after a collision in Cherrydale Wednesday morning.

Photo via MWAA

SUV Overturns in Cherrydale

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 31, 2013 at 10:30AM

An SUV overturned as a result of a collision at the intersection of N. Randolph and 21st Streets Wednesday morning.

Neither the driver of the SUV nor the driver of the white sedan with which it collided were injured in the crash, which occurred around 9:00 a.m. The SUV ended up on its roof on N. Randolph Street, but traffic on the small, residential street was able to drive around the damaged cars.

The driver of the SUV — which was heading uphill at the time of the wreck — said he didn’t see the stop sign at the intersection, which is partly obscured by a power line pole.

“The next thing I knew it was airborne,” he told ARLnow.com. “I have no idea how it flipped.”

The driver was able to exit the overturned vehicle via the passenger-side door.

Residents of the Cherrydale neighborhood came to the scene after the wreck, and one witness who saw the crash said she had sent complaints to the county about the stop sign before. A similar accident happened in the same place nine months ago, the woman, who asked not to be identified, said.

“They’ve got to fix the stop sign,” she said. “This is not a safe corner.”

Pike to Close This Weekend for Bridge Construction

By ARLnow.com

Published July 29, 2013 at 3:30PM

A major closure of Columbia Pike is planned this coming weekend due to bridge construction.

The road will be closed between S. Quinn Street and S. Orme Street from 9:00 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2 to 4:00 a.m. Monday, Aug. 5, the Virginia Department of Transportation announced today. The closure is part of the ongoing Washington Blvd interchange project.

VDOT is building a new bridge for Washington Blvd over Columbia Pike, a $51.5 million project that’s expected to be completed by summer 2015. This latest closure will allow crews to place steel beams for the new bridge over the Pike. Subsequent closures will be needed during the demolition of the old bridge.

Columbia Pike traffic will be able to get around the closure by following the on-ramps to Washington Blvd to a temporary traffic signal. More detailed detour information, from VDOT:

Columbia Pike traffic, including pedestrians and bicyclists, will be detoured around the work area to a temporary signal at Washington Boulevard.

Northbound Washington Boulevard to westbound Columbia Pike will be detoured to Second Street South interchange and back to Columbia Pike via South Courthouse Road.

Southbound Washington Boulevard to eastbound Columbia Pike will turn left at the temporary signal on Washington Boulevard and follow the detour back to Route 244.

South Queen Street will be closed at its intersection with Columbia Pike.

Road Closures for Crystal City Twilighter 5K

By ARLnow.com

Published July 26, 2013 at 2:30PM

The Crystal City Twilighter 5K race will result in a number of road closures Saturday night.

The race is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, and is billed as “the area’s favorite summer twilight race.” The race registration fee includes a free beverage at a post-race party for those 21 and over.

Today, the Arlington County Police announced the following road closures, to go into effect Saturday evening.

The following lane closures will be in effect between 6:30 p.m. and 11:15 p.m.:

Northbound lanes of Crystal Drive between 23rd Street and 20th Street.

Southbound lanes of Crystal Drive between 23rd Street and 20th Street.

A single southbound access lane from 20th Street to the parking garage entrance at 2100 Crystal Drive will be provided.

A single southbound exit lane will be provided at the 2200 Crystal Drive exit with access to 23rd Street.

Note, there will be parking and limited access restrictions in the horseshoe driveway at 2121 Crystal Drive starting at noon.

The following lane closures will be in effect between 8:00 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.:

All lanes of Crystal Drive between Route 1 and 23rd Street.

Northbound lanes of Crystal Drive between 20th Street and 15th Street.

One southbound lane of Crystal Drive between 20th Street and 15th Street. Western-most southbound lane between 15th and 20th Streets to remain open to provide parking garage access.

Northbound lanes of Potomac Avenue between Crystal Drive and the Potomac Yard movie theater.

One southbound lane of Potomac Avenue between 33rd Street and the Potomac Yard movie theater. Western-most southbound lane to remain open to provide parking garage access and circulation.

33rd Street between Potomac Avenue and Crystal Drive.

The following lane closures will be in effect between 8:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.:

Horseshoe driveway at 2345 Crystal Drive – access to the horseshoe driveway at 2345 Crystal Drive will be accessible until approximately 8:30 p.m. and is scheduled to reopen by 9:00 p.m. at the latest.

Numerous parking garages will also be impacted by the closures.

Photo courtesy Crystal City BID, an ARLnow.com advertiser

Morning Poll: Two Left Turn Lanes on Wilson in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

Published July 26, 2013 at 9:45AM

Earlier this summer, county road crews reconfigured the eastbound (downhill) lanes on Wilson Blvd approaching N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn.

Instead of having one lefthand turn lane and two straight through lanes, the middle lane was converted to a second lefthand turn lane.

The impacts of the reconfiguration are most noticeable at rush hour. Whereas a big traffic impediment was once drivers trying to merge from the middle lane into the single turn lane, now the single through lane is backed up, at points causing jams at intersections.

Some drivers cheered the move.

“Finally… a solution to the rush hour commute,” said local resident Eric Hagerstrom, in an email to ARLnow.com. Other drivers, however, complained about the new backups.

If you’ve driven through it, what do you think of the lane change?

Annual Paving Project Moves Into Clarendon

By Katie Pyzyk

Published July 25, 2013 at 4:30PM

Driving through Clarendon has become messier and is taking longer due to construction on several of the major roads in the neighborhood. It’s the latest area to be worked on as part of the annual paving program.

The affected area in Clarendon covers about five blocks — two along Wilson Blvd, two on N. Highland Street and one on N. Fillmore Street. Crews have been milling — removing the top layer of streets — and adjusting utilities as needed. Paving with two to three inches of hot-mix asphalt follows soon after, as well as line painting.

Because of the busy nature of the Clarendon neighborhood, contractors plan to do the paving portion on Sunday and Monday nights, weather permitting. Crews have been able to do the milling and utility adjustments during the day because those tasks are more flexible in terms of working around vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

Clarendon isn’t the only area getting repaved; an online map highlights in red the active paving projects throughout the county. Residents in the affected areas receive letters announcing the road work four to six week before it begins. Temporary “no parking” signs are posted along the roads and cars parked in the work areas during the restricted times will be towed.

The county’s annual paving program typically takes place between March and October because the hot-mix asphalt can only be applied in warm, dry weather. Currently, this year’s paving stands at about 87 percent complete.