(Updated at 1:15 p.m.) As of 1:00 this afternoon, nearly 1,800 Dominion customers were still without power, according to a spokesperson.
At its peak, immediately after Hurricane Irene left the area yesterday morning, more than 14,000 Dominion customers were in the dark in Arlington.
“Arlington, Alexandria and Springfield experienced some significant damage,” said Dominion spokeswoman Le-Ha Anderson. “Due to that, we know that it will be Tuesday night before all of those customers are restored.”
(Updated at 8:30 a.m.) Both lanes of eastbound Lee Highway have been closed at George Mason Drive this morning.
The closure is due to power lines that were knocked down by a tractor trailer, according to police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal. Dominion is on the scene and expects to have the lines repaired by 10:30 a.m. More than 150 Dominion customers are without power in the area due to the downed lines.
Eastbound Lee Highway traffic is being diverted onto southbound George Mason Drive. Cars are not being allowed to turn left at the intersection, to ensure that traffic moves smoothly through the area.
Courtesy photo
(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) The formal announcement of a “big” new annual Labor Day event along the W&OD Trail took place in Arlington’s Bluemont Park this morning.
Few details about the event were revealed ahead of time, but with the announcement featuring remarks by County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman and local lawmaker Del. Patrick Hope, one could reasonably assume that the bulk of the new event was to take place in Arlington, right?
Wrong.
The “Dominion Trail Mix” Labor Day community event will largely take place in Loudoun County, as it turns out. “The Great Skedaddle” — a bike, run, walk event along the W&OD Trail — and “TrailFest” — an outdoor festival featuring pop-country group Gloriana — will both take place at Farmwell Station Middle School in Ashburn.
A third Trail Mix event — the “Hail the Trail” clean-up event — will take place at eight nine different stations along the trail on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 3. According to the newly-updated Trail Mix web site, the station closest to Arlington will be located at Veterans Common at 507 Little Falls Street in Falls Church. The event will encourage volunteers to pick up trash, perform kiosk maintenance, weed and plant along the trail.
Among those on hand for this morning’s announcement were Virginia First Lady Maureen McDonnell, Dominion CEO Paul Koonce and Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority Executive Director Paul Gilbert.
The construction cone slalom on Columbia Pike has converged into one relatively narrow, pock-marked chute of two-way traffic.
On one side of the Pike, two lanes are blocked by much-needed repaving work. On the other side, next to the still under-construction Penrose Square development, one lane is blocked by Dominion trucks that are preparing to replace an underground transformer that apparently blew this morning (a tipster reports hearing a large bang and seeing a flash in the area around 9:30 a.m.).
In the middle of the mess is the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Barton Street, where traffic lights are dark thanks to the aforementioned power problems.
Traffic and construction vehicles on the Pike are treating the intersection as if there was no stop light at all and simply driving through it. As of 1:45 p.m., no one was there trying to instruct them otherwise.
Both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly have unanimously passed bills that would create a fund to provide low-interest loans for solar energy projects in the Commonwealth.
The bill in the House of Delegates, HB 2191, was sponsored by Arlington’s Del. Adam Ebbin (D). It passed on Monday.
The bill in the state Senate, SB 975, was sponsored by Arlington’s Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D). It passed on Friday.
The bills would create the Voluntary Solar Resource Development Fund, which will distribute loans to help power customers install solar panels and solar water heaters at their homes or businesses. The fund will receive funding from voluntary contributions and grants. Utilities will be required to promote the funds and let customers opt-in for monthly contributions.
“Virginia has some of the highest solar energy potential in the region, but we’re being outpaced by our neighbors like Maryland, which has only two-thirds our population but thirteen times the number of homes powered by solar energy,” Ebbin said in a statement. “This fund will ensure that more Virginians have the opportunity to power their homes with cheap, clean, renewable energy and help our companies stay competitive in the growing market for solar energy.”
Ebbin said Dominion and Appalachian Power, along with the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations, helped to support the bill.
Two Arlington non-profits are getting a cool $5,000 apiece thanks to a round of charitable donations by Dominion.
The energy company announced $2 million in donations yesterday to help the homeless and aid families in need.
Arlington affordable housing outfit AHC, Inc. and at-risk women’s shelter Doorways for Women and Families both accepted the donations at a press conference in Reston.
“Dominion wants to help our friends and neighbors who are encountering hardships during the current recession,” CEO Thomas F. Farrell II said in a statement. “Housing-related organizations and programs are facing increased demand for their services, while their own budgets are stretched thin… We are working to help ensure that safe, warm shelter is available to those in need.”
Photo courtesy Jeremy Rusnock Photography
Dominion is shutting off the power to 82 homes in the Waycroft-Woodlawn neighborhood today so that a contractor can perform tree maintenance near power lines.
The maintenance comes just under three weeks after a strong storm felled trees and knocked out power to homes in the area, near Virginia Hospital Center.
The power will be shut off from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Dominion said in a letter to affected residents. The work is being performed “near the primary line that feeds [the] neighborhood,” according to the letter.
Dominion is holding a public meeting from 5:00 to 8:00 tonight to discuss a major project that will run a new underground transmission line from Pentagon City to Clarendon.
The meeting will be held at the Lyon Park Community Center (414 North Fillmore Street).
Find more information here.
Arlington is still growing, population-wise, and that larger population is requiring more and more electricity to serve its needs.
To help meet demand, Dominion is planning a major project to run a 3.7 mile underground transmission line from Pentagon City to the power substation at 3245 Wilson Boulevard in Clarendon. The project also proposes to construct a new Radnor Heights power substation on the grounds of Ft. Myer.
The project “will support growth in Arlington County,” says Dominion spokesperson Le-Ha Anderson. But progress will come at a cost — burying the line will be an intensive 18 month process that will result in open-cut trenching and street closures along the proposed route.
“Because this is underground, we’re going to have to dig up the roadways,” Anderson said. “We’re going to do everything we can to minimize traffic and community disruption.”
Dominion is holding a public meeting a week from today to provide information about the project. The meeting will take place from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Nov. 29 at the Lyon Park Community Center (414 North Fillmore Street). The company held a public meeting for the Ft. Myer community last week.
If all goes as planned, construction will begin in January and end in June 2012. The end result, Anderson says, will be worth the temporary hassle.
“We’re improving service reliability to our customers in the Arlington area,” she said.
Flickr pool photo by Alykat
Board Considering Restoration of Library Hours — The county board will consider restoring library hours in next year’s budget, members said at Saturday’s monthly meeting. However, the board also said there was not enough money in the current budget to restore hours this year. Library hours were reduced as a result of cuts in the 2010-2011 budget. More from the Sun Gazette.
New Power Transmission Line Proposed — Dominion wants to run a new underground power transmission line from the Clarendon area to the Pentagon City area. The project, set to begin early next year and wrap up by the middle of 2012, would also result in the construction of a new power substation in Radnor Heights. More from the Ode Street Tribune.
Fourth Grade Textbook Questioned — Fourth graders in Arlington Public Schools will continue to use “Our Virginia,” a history textbook that contains at least two dubious historical claims. One such claim is that thousands of black soldiers fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. The passage has prompted authorities in Loudoun County to suspend use of “Our Virginia,” but APS officials told the Washington Post that the school system will continue to use the book.
Flickr pool photo by Michael T. Ruhl
Last year, Dominion upgraded the power substation at 3245 Wilson Boulevard to help provide additional power capacity to the ever-developing Clarendon area. As part of the upgrades, Dominion promised a new containment wall that would make the facility easier on the eyes. So far, though, it’s still just a fence.
That has some locals worried. One resident contacted us and pointed out that the Dominion web site lists the project as “complete.” Would the prominently-placed substation remain surrounded by the “ugly” chain link fence?
No, says Dominion spokesperson Le-Ha Anderson. The wall is coming.
“Dominion is working with Arlington County, community members and an art consultant to select a vendor to create the artwork for the façade around the… substation,” Anderson told ARLnow.com. “We expect to have a design proposal by late November – early December.”
Anderson said she expects the wall to be built by spring 2011.
