Update at 4:20 p.m. — It appears that eastbound I-66 has reopened at the accident scene.
An overturned vehicle is tying up traffic on westbound eastbound I-66.
A car flipped on its roof in the eastbound lanes near Great Falls Street just before 2:30 this afternoon. Initial reports suggest paramedics are evaluating at least one patient. Firefighters are working to reach another person who’s trapped in the vehicle.
Eastbound traffic is at a standstill just past the Beltway.
Eastbound Route 50 is down to one lane between Carlin Springs Road and Henderson Road due to paving.
The lane closure is expected to be lifted around 4:00 p.m., after the roadwork concludes.
Road crews are out in force on and around Columbia Pike today.
At Columbia Pike and South Wakefield Street, a contractor is laying down lane striping in the middle of the Pike. Traffic is down to one lane in each direction. The good news is that this torn-up section of the Pike has recently gotten a few patches of fresh asphalt to smooth out what were some pretty nasty bumps.
A short walk away, on South Taylor Street, an Arlington County crew is repaving a section of the road that was damaged by a water main break. The road is closed between Columbia Pike and 9th Street.
On the eastern end of the Pike, in front of the new Penrose Square apartments, cars are doing the construction cone slalom once again. One lane in each direction gets around on-going utility work in the middle of the road.
Update at 11:45 p.m. — News outlets are reporting that the officer’s injuries are not life-threatening.
Update at 3:15 p.m. — All lanes of I-395 in D.C. have been reopened.
Update at 12:00 p.m. — D.C. is telling Arlington that the accident was fatal (this has NOT been confirmed). Police are blocking I-395 on the D.C. side of the 14th Street Bridge to allow for an extended investigation. Traffic is being diverted onto 14th Street in D.C.
Update at 11:45 a.m. — The bridge has been shut down again. Traffic is being diverted onto Boundary Channel Drive.
Update at 11:20 a.m. — All lanes of the 14th Street Bridge have reopened. Traffic issues remain in D.C., where eastbound I-395 is still blocked.
Earlier: Arlington police have shut down the northbound lanes of the 14th Street Bridge at the request of D.C. officials.
The closure is due to the landing of a Medevac helicopter in D.C. The helicopter will be landing in the area of I-395 and 7th Street SW, where a U.S. Park Police motorcycle officer (per WTOP’s Adam Tuss) was injured in a collision.
Northbound I-395 traffic is being diverted onto the George Washington Parkway.
Update at 11:25 a.m. — The pothole has been filled, VDOT reports.
At least a half dozen cars suffered flat tires after hitting a big pothole on southbound I-395 this morning.
The pothole is located in the left lane between the 14th Street Bridge and the exit for Route 1, according to VDOT spokeswoman Jennifer McCord.
“Our contractor is en route right now and will be repairing it ASAP,” McCord said in an email.
Arlington police assisted a number of the disabled motorists.
Update at 2:30 p.m. — This story has been corrected. A previous version of the story stated that the ART bus accident happened at Route 1 and 23rd Street and involved one minor injury. In fact, the Route 1 accident did not involve the bus. The bus accident happened as described below.
An ART bus was involved in an accident near Ft. Myer just before 10:30 this morning.
The accident, between the bus and another vehicle, happened on the tricky merge from South Courthouse Road to Washington Boulevard.
No injuries were reported at the time.
Update at 8:55 a.m. — Both westbound lanes have been reopened. Traffic is starting to move again.
Update at 8:40 a.m. — Almost an hour after the accident, only one lane is getting by. A tow truck has just arrived and should be clearing most of the lanes shortly. Traffic is now backing up to the Rosslyn tunnel.
Traffic is backed up on westbound I-66 from Sycamore Street to North Scott Street due to a multi-car accident.
Arlington police and paramedics are on the scene of a five-car accident on the highway’s westbound lanes near Sycamore Street. At least one injury has been reported.
The accident has slowed traffic to a crawl over much of westbound I-66 inside the Beltway.
Hat tip to @katekirk
Numerous reports of downed power lines, toppled trees, dislodged traffic signs and blowing debris are coming in.
Among the reports we’re following right now:
Newly-narrowed South Joyce Street in Pentagon City is losing a few parking spaces to make way for trees.
Over the winter, crews narrowed the portion of Joyce Street from 15th Street to 16th Street. A sidewalk was added to the side of the road facing Virginia Highlands Park, and the width of the street was reduced from 40 feet to about 35 feet.
The changes were intended as traffic calming measures. Narrower streets, the county says, encourage drivers to slow down.
To slow traffic down even more, Arlington has added six car-length planters — three on either side of the street. Trees will be planted in the planters, which each take up what was once a parking space.
“They serve to visually narrow the roadway on a very long stretch that is not interrupted by intersections,” said Traffic Engineering and Operations Bureau Chief Wayne Wentz.
Wentz said that while one side of the street has cars parked on it throughout the day, the other side sometimes lacks parked cars. The empty parking spaces, in turn, make the street appear wider and result in people speeding up. The planters, Wentz said, will do the job of calming traffic even when parked cars aren’t present.
Wentz noted that the roadwork actually added two parking spots to South Joyce Street, so the net loss of parking is only four spots. But one resident worried that park-goers may soon be forced to leave their cars in the adjacent neighborhood.
“Those barriers on the side take up parking spots that fill up quickly during softball season!” said the resident. “I live at South Joyce and 20th and you can bet neighbors will be complaining about increased parking in their neighborhood.”
The construction was paid for by money set aside by the developer of the nearby Pentagon Row shops.
“The changes to Joyce Street were actually development conditions of Pentagon Row,” Wentz said.
Wentz expects the trees to be planted by mid-April. The county’s arborist will decide which type of tree will be planted. In addition to the six planters on the side of the road, road crews also added a planter in the middle of the road at a pedestrian crossing.
Last night’s sleet and snow seems to have pulled off the trick of actually improving traffic.
Right now it’s clear sailing in Arlington on I-395, I-66, Route 1, Route 50 and Columbia Pike. Traffic volume has remained light and no major problems are reported.
Many side streets are still covered in a thin frozen glaze, but are passable.
The storm, which left less than an inch of accumulation, prompted Arlington Public Schools to open on a two-hour delay. The county and federal governments are open with an option for unscheduled leave or telework.
Update at 12:50 p.m. — All lanes have reopened.
Arlington firefighters are on the scene of a car fire on westbound I-66 near Westmoreland Street.
The fire appears to have been extinguished. One lane of traffic is currently getting by.
