I-395

BREAKING TRAFFIC — I-395 Lanes Blocked After Car Flips Over

By ARLnow.com

A car flipped over in the HOV lane of I-395 around 1:30 this afternoon, trapping the driver and snarling traffic. No word on whether the driver is injured.

As of 1:45, the HOV lanes and two lanes northbound and southbound I-395 are blocked between Seminary Road and King Street.

First responders from Arlington and Alexandria are on scene, along with Virginia State Police.

As of 2:15, major delays on southbound I-395 were forming just past the Pentagon. The driver appears to have been freed from the vehicle.

Northbound I-395 Shut Down At Glebe Road Due to Accident

By ARLnow.com

Update at 5:30 p.m. — All lanes have reopened.

Update at 4:40 p.m. — One lane is now getting by. Traffic is backed up to Duke Street.

All northbound lanes of I-395 have been shut down due to an accident. Police are on the scene and paramedics are responding for a reported injury.

Traffic is being forced to exit on Glebe Road. Backups are forming quickly.

After Bankrolling Lawsuit, Taxpayers May Be Billed For HOT Lane Construction

By ARLnow.com

In an ironic twist, Arlington taxpayers, who have already paid nearly three quarters of a million dollars to fight the state and federal plan to build high occupancy toll lanes on I-395, may end up partially footing the bill for the eventual construction of the lanes.

Uriah Kiser of InsideNoVA.com reports that state transportation officials are considering a plan that would use taxpayer dollars to supplement private funding for the construction of HOT lanes. Previously, officials had said that the lanes would be wholly funded by a private company, in exchange for a long-term lease on the lanes.

The two companies in contention for building and leasing the lanes — Texas-based Fluor and Australia-based Transurban — have both had difficulty finding investors for the project. The companies have also recently donated a large sum of money to the Virginia Republican Party.

The private law firm representing Arlington County in its lawsuit against the HOT lane plan has been paid $744,000, according to the Sun Gazette.

Biz Leaders Ask Arlington to Drop HOT Lanes Suit

By Uriah Kiser

Area business leaders are urging Arlington to drop its lawsuit against High Occupancy Toll lanes on Interstate 395 and 95.

Twenty professionals, including Arlington Chamber of Commerce president Richard V. Doud, Jr., signed a memo urging county board chairman Jay Fisette to embrace the toll lanes project.

“The primary obstacle to advancing this innovative, multi-modal improvement is the Arlington County Board’s lawsuit that precludes the project from securing any private or public sector funding,” the letter stated.

Alexandria and Prince William County business leaders also signed the letter, despite opposition to the project from elected leaders in those jurisdictions.

When Arlington filed the suit in August 2009, officials said the lanes would create more traffic, would lead to more pollution and would have an adverse affect on Arlington residents who live along I-395. They said Virginia transportation officials were allowed move forward with the project without conducting the necessary environmental studies.

Arlington officials also said the lanes would benefit mostly affluent, white residents from Stafford and Spotsylvania counties. Wednesday’s letter called those allegations absurd.

“Charges that the Obama administration and Governor Tim Kaine’s Secretary of Transportation acted with the ‘implicit intent’ to harm minority and vulnerable populations and benefit predominantly Caucasian Virginians are not credible and frankly an embarrassment to this region,” the letter stated.

(more…)

Arlington Participating in HOV Awareness Day

By ARLnow.com

Wednesday will not be a good day to try to skirt the HOV restrictions on I-395 or I-66. Not that any day is.

The Arlington County Police Department is coordinating with Virginia State Police, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police and other regional law enforcement agencies for the first “Capitol Region HOV Awareness Day” on May 5.

Police will conduct “saturation patrols” targeting HOV violators on local interstates during the morning and evening rush hours.

As part of the HOV Awareness Day campaign, authorities are also warning Virginia drivers to follow the state’s Move Over law, which requires motorists to change lanes or — if it’s not possible to change lanes — slow down when passing stopped emergency personnel. Violating the law carries a fine of up to $2,500 and/or 12 months in jail.

McDonnell Pushes For HOT Lanes Despite Arlington Suit

By Uriah Kiser

Virginia’s governor wants to revive the effort to put toll lanes on Interstate 395.

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell said his administration has been working to breathe life into the plan to add High Occupancy Toll lanes to the highway after it was delayed last year, following a lawsuit from Arlington County officials, according to the Washington Examiner.

The suit, which last week won a federal judge’s approval to move forward, claims that during the waning days of the Bush administration state transportation officials were improperly granted a “categorical exclusion” allowing the toll lanes to be built without conducting required environmental impact studies.

County officials say the lanes will benefit mostly white residents from Stafford and Spotsylvania counties to the detriment of Arlington residents — including a high concentration of minorities — who live along the I-395 corridor.

In addition to resulting in more pollution from auto emissions, the county argues the lanes could bring more traffic to Arlington’s neighborhood streets.

Last year, then County Board Chair Barbara Favola warned traffic would inevitably back-up where the HOT lanes would end, at Eads Street, forcing drivers to exit early.

State transportation officials have long countered that argument, saying the project would bring with it the reconstruction of local intersections and would ease traffic.

(more…)

Crash on I-395 HOV Lane Tying Up Traffic

By ARLnow.com

Backups on I-395 caused by 4/1/10 crash

A crash in the HOV lanes of I-395 near the exit for Shirlington is tying up rush hour traffic. Virginia State Police and Arlington paramedics are on the scene of the two-car collision. One minor injury has been reported.

Standing Water on I-395 Causes Big Splash

By ARLnow.com

Update at 4:45 p.m. — A road crew has now blocked off the lane.

We spotted a big pool of standing water covering the left HOV lane of I-395 North approaching the 14th Street Bridge. At least three cars and trucks drove through it, causing a big splash but, so far, no accidents.

Another Slow Commute

By ARLnow.com

Update at 11:45 AM – I-395 North is still crawling for a three-mile stretch from Arlington to the 14th Street Bridge. Thankfully, congestion has started to clear out through portions of I-395 in Alexandria. The traffic camera image of I-395 at the Pentagon (below) was captured at 11:40 — an extraordinary sight for this time of day.

It’s not quite the traffic nightmare of Friday, but today’s commute is exceptionally slow in Northern Virginia.

The Arlington stretch of I-66 was backed up earlier, but it’s now beginning to clear out. I-395 North, meanwhile, is still jammed almost the entire way to the I-95 Interchange.

Federal Employees Head Back To Work, Clog Roads

By ARLnow.com

Update at 12:30 PM -Congestion on I-395 is finally beginning to thin out near the 14th Street Bridge. Metro, whose web site has crashed, says that an earlier train derailment on the Red Line at Farragut North station (more on that in the next post) has been cleared. Obviously, Metro delays continue.

Update at 12:10 PM – It’s noon and the traffic still looks like it did at 9:30, when the picture to the left was taken. At this point don’t you just turn around and head home?

Update at 10:10 AM – Metro trains on the Orange Line are running about once every 45 minutes, resulting in a huge crowd of waiting passengers at Ballston station, according to a reader via Twitter.

As most federal employees head to work for the first time this week, the primary worry for DC-area drivers has gone from snow-covered roads to traffic-clogged highways. Call it a return to normalcy.

Currently, there’s heavy traffic throughout the entire length of I-395 North. VDOT cameras show a continuous stretch of slow traffic on I-66 East from DC to well beyond the Beltway. And the GW Parkway is also backed-up.

WTOP is blaming the back-ups on the limited Metrorail service. In an interview,  Virginia Democrat Rep. Gerry Connolly told the station that Metro needs more funding so it can recover more quickly from events like this week’s blizzard.

Connolly said the federal government should share part of the burden for Metro’s budget.

I-66 and Glebe Road at 12:20 PM on 2/12/10

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