Traffic

Ay, Caramba! District Taco Cart Flips in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

Fans of the District Taco cart won’t be able to get their lunchtime burrito fix today.

The cart flipped over this morning on the ramp from Lee Highway to I-66/Roosevelt Bridge in Rosslyn. On Twitter, District Taco blamed a broken tow hitch for the mishap.

“The life of a food trucker is not easy,” @districttaco lamented. “This is one of the problems that we have to face.”

No one was hurt in the incident. District Taco’s brick-and-mortar restaurant at 5723 Lee Highway is, of course, still open.

Photo via @districttaco

Bus Accident Shuts Down Street Near Hospital

By ARLnow.com

An accident reportedly involving two buses has shut down a street near Virginia Hospital Center.

16th Street N. has been temporarily shut down between George Mason Drive and N. Edison Street due to an accident reportedly involving an ART bus and a school bus.

There were no reports of injuries. No word on whether there were passengers on either bus at the time of the accident.

Update at 5:35 p.m. — The accident involved a newly-hired ART bus driver but only resulted in minor damage to bus mirrors, Arlington County Transit Bureau Chief Stephen Del Giudice confirms. Del Giudice says he believes that the ART bus had passengers on board at the time of the accident, but no injuries were reported. The school bus did not have passengers on board, he said.

Del Giudice said that police closed the road immediately following the accident for a reason unrelated to the accident. He was unable to elaborate on what that reason was.

Morning Poll: Parked Trucks on the Pike

By ARLnow.com

Delivery trucks are making a regular habit of blocking one lane of Columbia Pike in front of the new-ish Siena Park apartment building (2301 Columbia Pike).

The design of the building and the surrounding block seems to discourage delivery truck drivers from parking anywhere but right out front. Other than a tiny, often-full set of parking spaces cut into the sidewalk in front of the building, however, the only place for trucks to sit is right smack in the right-hand westbound lane of the Pike.

In big cities like D.C. and New York, commercial vehicles are often allowed to double park in order to make quick deliveries. It would be illegal for the average citizen to do it, but how else are employees of FedEx or UPS expected to do their job?

Should police look the other way on the Pike, as well?

Pedestrian Improvements Underway on Shirlington Road

By ARLnow.com

Work is underway on a series of pedestrian improvements on Shirlington Road.

The sidewalk in front of the Weenie Beenie, between Four Mile Run Drive and 27th Street S., is being expanded from 5.5 feet to 12 feet. In addition, the traffic signal at Shirlington Road and Four Mile Run Drive is being upgraded, LED street lights are being added and other aspects of the streetscape are being improved.

The improvements are intended to make bike and foot travel safer in an area of high pedestrian and vehicle traffic.  The sidewalk serves pedestrians heading between Nauck and Shirlington, as well as cyclists and joggers heading between the W&OD Trail and the two sections of the Four Mile Run Trail.

“We’re trying to greatly upgrade that pedestrian/bicycle connectivity,” said Arlington County Director of Transportation Dennis Leach. He added that the upgrades were made necessary, among other reasons, due to the narrowness of the preexisting sidewalk.

“We’ve had some real concerns,” Leach said. “The existing condition is poor.”

In addition to safety enhancements, the $196,000 project will also improve the landscaping along Shirlington Road, upgrade the bus stop at the intersection with Four Mile Run Drive, and bolster the handling of storm water to prevent runoff into Four Mile Run.

Leach said the project is the “first phase” of a larger pedestrian improvement initiative that will see the widening of the Shirlington Road bridge over Four Mile Run. Widening the bridge and the corresponding sidewalk will allow more than one cyclist to cross at a time on the busy stretch. The Four Mile Run Trail alone, Leach said, handled 1,300 people per day during the month of May.

Northbound GW Parkway Shut Down Due to Accident

By ARLnow.com

Both northbound lanes of the GW Parkway have been shut down near Reagan National Airport due to a three vehicle accident.

At least one minor injury has been reported.

A fire department unit at the scene says told dispatch that the accident is a “significant traffic hazard.” Airport and U.S. Park Police are responding to the call.

Lane Closures in Place for Glebe Road Bridge Work

By ARLnow.com

Drivers heading across the Glebe Road/Route 50 bridge are now encountering lane closures and heavier traffic during the day.

The bridge that carries Glebe Road traffic over Route 50 is being replaced over the next 15 months. Initially, we had been told that “any lane closures or shifts… will occur between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.” and that there would be “no major construction impacts… during the day.”

The lane closures, construction activity and traffic backups we saw on either side of the bridge today seem to dispute those initial statements.

Update at 11:50 a.m. — We’re hearing on Twitter that VDOT told attendees at a public meeting that the work underway now — removing the medians leading to the bridge — would possibly take place during the day.

Road Closures Planned for Weekend Bike Races

By ARLnow.com

The Air Force Cycling Classic will bring exciting races and extensive road closures to Arlington over the weekend.

The nationally-recognized pro cycling event will kick off early in Clarendon on Saturday, then head to Crystal City on Sunday. Here’s the official schedule:

  • Saturday, June 11 (Clarendon)
    • 8:00 a.m. — Amateur races (for licensed riders)
    • 10:05 a.m. — Women’s Pro/Am race
    • 11:35 a.m. — Kids race
    • 12:00 p.m. — Clarendon Cup Pro/Am Invitational
  • Sunday, June 12 (Crystal City)
    • 7:30 a.m. — Crystal Ride (open to all, registration ends Friday)
    • 11:15 a.m. — Kids races
    • 11:35 a.m. — Crystal Cup Pro/Am Invitational
    • 1:25 p.m. — Women’s Pro/Am race
    • 2:30 p.m. — Amateur race (for licensed riders)

The races will result in a long list of road closures. See the list, after the jump.
(more…)

Chain Bridge Road to Close Today

By ARLnow.com

Update at 1:00 p.m. — Chain Bridge Road has reopened.

Update at 10:30 a.m. –VDOT has issued a correction, saying that the 400 block of Chain Bridge Road, not the bridge itself, will be closed.

Chain Bridge The 400 block of Chain Bridge Road will be closed for part of the day today.

Tree work will force the bridge road to close from about 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., DDOT said on its Twitter account this morning. A VDOT official confirmed the closure.

“Our crews need to remove a tree that is in danger of falling into the roadway,” said VDOT spokeswoman Joan Morris. “The closure is from 9:30 a.m. till 2:30 p.m. We hope to reopen the road sooner than that if the removal goes well.”

The work brings back memories of last year’s bridge rehabilitation project, which forced the closure of the bridge on several occasions.

Morris says signs warning about today’s closure have been up for five days. A detour is posted, she said.

Old Red Light Camera in Rosslyn To Be Taken Down

By ARLnow.com

The red light camera that once issued tickets at the intersection of Wilson Boulevard and N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn is set to be taken down.

While the camera hasn’t been functional in years, its housing is still keeping a constant vigil at the busy intersection. Police tell us, however, that they’re planning on taking the camera down in about a month.

Arlington currently has four working red light cameras: NB N. Lynn Street at EB Lee Highway, SB Ft. Myer Drive at WB Lee Highway, NB N. Glebe Road at Fairfax Drive and NB Washington Blvd at Lee Highway. In Virginia, the fines from red light cameras are limited to $50.

Progress on 2201 North Pershing Drive Project

By ARLnow.com

What was once the Lee Center strip mall is now a big, dusty hole in the ground.

Construction is well underway on what is known as the 2201 North Pershing Drive project. When work wraps up in mid-to-late 2012, the $75 million project at Route 50 and Pershing Drive will consist of 188 rental apartments and nearly 33,500 square feet of ground-level retail space.

For now, motorists on Pershing Drive have to put up with regular lane closures, slow-moving construction equipment and flagmen directing traffic.

Westbound Columbia Pike Shut Down

By ARLnow.com

Update at 9:30 a.m. — The accident has been cleared and Columbia Pike has reopened.

Westbound Columbia Pike has been shut down in front of the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse due to a truck fire.

A rental truck caught fire around 8:30 this morning. Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames, but an oil leak has now reportedly been discovered.

Firefighters and police are expected to remain on the scene for about an hour — until about 10:00 a.m. — as the leak is cleaned up. Traffic is being diverted onto Walter Reed Drive.

While ARLnow.com was on the scene, a Metrobus driver decided to skip the detour and instead drive westbound in the eastbound turn lane of Columbia Pike (see photo above).

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