A car caught on fire on eastbound I-66 near Rosslyn tonight.
The car, said to be a Volkswagen bug, was fully engulfed between I-66 and the entrance ramp from Lee Highway when firefighters arrived on the scene, just before 8:45 p.m.
The fire was quickly extinguished, but not before causing a backup. All lanes of eastbound I-66 were blocked for a time.
Update at 7:20 p.m. — As of 6:45 p.m., all lanes on I-66 have reopened.
A tractor trailer fire in Fairfax County may tie up rush hour traffic on I-66 this evening.
A truck carrying hay caught fire near Route 123 this afternoon. The hay quickly became fully-engulfed, leaving a smoldering mess that forced authorities to close all westbound lanes of I-66. At least two Bobcat front loaders have been brought in to help with the firefighting and clean-up efforts.
Backups on westbound I-66 now extend to the Beltway. The backups may worsen as rush hour approaches. Cars have been spotted crossing the median on I-66 in an attempt to get out of the miles-long traffic jam.
Westbound Route 50, a possible alternate route, is also backed up to the Beltway.
Photo courtesy @DavidLyonHall
If you’re trying to leave town for Memorial Day weekend on I-66 or I-395, you’re going to have plenty of company.
Westbound I-66 is slow from Rosslyn to Falls Church. Meanwhile, northbound I-395 is jammed from Glebe Road to the 14th Street Bridge.
In addition to heavy traffic, we’ve also spotted packs of Rolling Thunder motorcyclists heading into town for the annual Memorial Day weekend gathering.
Update at 2:35 p.m. — The worker has been transported to the hospital and the scene is being cleared.
A worker was reportedly struck in the head by a piece of construction material near the Patrick Henry Drive overpass on I-66.
Arlington County firefighters are working to secure the worker and get him or her to an ambulance. One lane of westbound I-66 is blocked by the emergency response.
Police are on the scene of a deer found lying in the middle of I-66.
The deer was hit and killed by a vehicle near Sycamore Street, where I-66 was shut down yesterday morning due to multiple accidents caused by deer in the roadway.
Police are in the process of moving the carcass to the side of the road. No word on the fate of the vehicle that hit the deer and apparently continued on its way.
A series of accidents shut down westbound I-66 near Sycamore Street this morning.
WUSA is reporting that the highway was closed from 5:00 to 6:30 a.m. due to multiple chain-reaction crashes caused by deer running onto the roadway.
Deer-vehicle collisions are becoming increasingly common in the United States. Between 2007 and 2009, the number of reported crashes involving deer rose 18.3 percent compared to the period five years prior.
Arlington’s Highway Bottlenecks — An annual report on traffic congestion is out and Arlington has claimed two of the three worst traffic bottlenecks in the region. Westbound I-66 in Arlington, northbound I-395 in Arlington ranked and eastbound I-66 in Fairfax County rounded out the top three spots. [Washington Post]
Colony House Sells to Developer — The Colony House furniture store on Lee Highway has been sold to Bethesda-based developer B.F. Saul for $5.6 million. The company, which developed the Clarendon Center project, says it hasn’t decided what to do with the site yet. In January, we reported that Colony House’s owner is hoping to find a new Arlington location for the store. [Washington Business Journal]
Columbia Pike Giant to Open This Summer — A 60,000 square foot Giant supermarket will be opening in the Penrose Square development on Columbia Pike at some point this summer, according to a store spokesperson. [TBD]
Video of President Obama’s Wakefield Visit — President Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard made a jovial visit to an AP U.S. History class at Wakefield High School yesterday. During an informal question-and-answer session, students asked the leaders about “schools in Australia, the recent flooding, Australian rule football, and even Vegemite.” President Obama also led students in a rendition of “Happy Birthday to You” for their teacher, Northern Virginia Teacher of the Year Colette Fraley. [The White House Blog]
New Additions to Hillside Park — There’s a new sculpture in Rosslyn’s Hillside Park. Also, some plantings have been added. [Ode Street Tribune]
Flickr pool photo by Damiec
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.
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
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.
A mom in the Waycroft neighborhood made a revolting discovery behind her house on Sunday.
“I just came home to find the crows are pecking at what looks like a decapitated deer head in my backyard,” the woman said in an email to the Waycroft-Woodlawn email listserv. “I don’t know what I am supposed to do… I REALLY don’t want to pick it up… it may have some disease. I have never seen a deer in our neighbourhood before. And where is the rest of the poor thing?”
The woman ended up reporting it to animal control officers with the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. An officer quickly arrived and indeed found part of a deer’s head lying in the grass.
“It was in a pretty rank state of decomposition,” said AWLA Executive Director Neil Trent, adding that “there’s no evidence of how it got there, or of any foul play.”
Trent said animal carcasses are discovered “fairly regularly” in the county, but they’re usually found on the sides of roads, not in people’s backyards.
The woman’s house is located between I-66 and Washington Boulevard, just a couple of blocks away from Ballston. Trent said one possible explanation would be that the deer was hit and killed on the highway, and part of its remains were carried off by a scavenger, which dropped it in the yard.
