lane closure

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Petition in Support of Affordable Housing Project — The website Greater Greater Washington is helping to promote a petition that intends to counter resident complaints about a proposed affordable housing project on the former Red Cross site along Route 50. Neighbors are concerned that the project might “defile” the Buckingham neighborhood, with increased traffic and school overcrowding and a loss of green space. [GGW, GGW]

‘A Friend’ Writes Thank You Note to ACPD — From the Arlington County Police Department Twitter account: “To the citizen who left this unexpected note on one of our cruisers, thank you. ACPD is grateful for the support we receive from the community and small gestures like this mean a lot to our officers.” [Twitter]

Arlingtonian Places 23rd at Boston — Among other impressive finishes by Arlington residents at the Boston Marathon on Monday, Graham Tribble finished 23rd with a time of 2:30:06, the fastest among the D.C. area contingent at the prestigious race. [RunWashington, Patch]

High Schools Students Learning How to Spot Fake News — “At Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, outside Washington, some high school seniors are bent over their laptops, engaged in a digital course called Checkology that helps them figure out what makes news and information real, misleading or just plain false.” [Voice of America]

Elementary Girls Heading to Int’l Problem Solving Competition — “An all-girls engineering team from Glebe Elementary School is heading to the 2018 Odyssey of the Mind World Finals where they will compete with students from nearly 25 countries… The team of fourth graders from Glebe, who are all ages 9 or 10, became state champions last weekend at the Virginia Odyssey of the Mind competition, which was held April 14 in Newport News.” [Arlington Public Schools]

ACPD Forms ‘Restaurant Liaison Unit’ — The Arlington County Police Department has formed a “Restaurant Liaison Unit” to work with local bars to tamp down on drunken and sometimes violent incidents. One Clarendon bar in particular had police responding to it for a call almost every other day in 2017. [Washington City Paper, Twitter]

Glebe Lane Closure Causes Backups — Commuters heading northbound on Glebe Road today faced major backups due to a lane closure near Ballston. Washington Gas has been performing emergency repairs in the roadway since Wednesday. [Twitter, Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by Rex Block

I-66 Bridge Rehab Work Starting Up, Lane Closures Scheduled

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Rehabilitation work on the I-66 bridge between the Rosslyn tunnel and D.C. has begun, according to the Virginia Dept. of Transportation.

Crews began setting out concrete barriers and pavement markings overnight on Wednesday, and will continue to do so through tonight (Thursday).

Lane closures on eastbound I-66 will be scheduled Monday-Friday from 9:30 p.m.-5 a.m., while westbound I-66 closures will be scheduled from 10 p.m.-5 a.m. on the same days.

VDOT expects traffic impacts to be minimal throughout the construction, which is expected to be completed by the summer of 2019.

For the next day or two, VDOT will periodically close the ramp from the southbound GW Parkway to the Roosevelt Bridge and westbound Route 50. The closures will take place between midnight and 5 a.m. to “allow for the installation of concrete barriers under the I-66 bridge,” according to the National Park Service.

The $5.7 million construction project will resurface the bridge’s deck, repair piers and abutments, and repave I-66 approaching the bridge.

According to VDOT, the bridge averages 54,000 vehicles a day eastbound and 44,000 westbound.

Photo courtesy VDOT

Water Main Repairs Close Part of S. Glebe Road

By ARLnow.com

The southbound lanes of S. Glebe Road are detoured between Walter Reed Drive and 20th Street S. due to a water main break.

Repair crews are currently on site, digging up the roadway to access the leaking section of pipe. Repairs on the 8-inch main are expected to stretch into the afternoon.

Northbound traffic on Glebe, meanwhile, is down to one lane.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

ACFD Battles Kitchen Fire — Arlington County firefighters last night extinguished a kitchen fire in an apartment building on the 1900 block of N. Calvert Street, just north of Lee Highway and east of Spout Run. No injuries were reported. [Twitter, Twitter]

Taylor P.E. Teacher Pleads to Drug Charge — A second former P.E. teacher at Taylor Elementary School has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a drug bust in December. Michael Diaddigo, 28, will reportedly “serve 1 of a 12-months jail sentence if he follows probation, which includes a $500 fine and substance abuse treatment.” [Twitter]

Central Place Bus Tunnel Still Closed — “A bus tunnel in Rosslyn critical to many commuters — which Metro said more than a year ago would open in days — remains closed due to outstanding construction concerns, WTOP has learned.” [WTOP]

Lanes Closures in Crystal City Tonight — The lanes of certain roads around Crystal City will be closed for about two hours tonight to accommodate the first of the annual Crystal City 5K Friday races. [Arlington County]

Residential Parking Permit Applications — “It is now time to renew your Residential Permit Parking Program permits and passes for the new program fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018. Remember enforcement continues throughout the year, so new passes/permits must be displayed by July 1st, 2018.” [Arlington County]

Actor Says No to WJLA Interview — Amy Schumer has turned down an interview with Arlington-based TV station WJLA (ABC 7) because it is owned by Sinclair, the broadcast station owner under fire for making its anchors read a script denouncing “biased and false news” from other outlets. [Buzzfeed]

Two Lanes Closing At National Airport Arrivals Roadway

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Two left lanes along Reagan National Airport’s terminals B and C arrivals lower-level roadway will be closed through April, effective next Wednesday (March 21).

Lane shifts will block private vehicle passenger pickup lanes along much of the median. Congestion is expected at peak times, though the lane closures and construction will be around the clock. Per a construction site map, passengers arriving with American Airlines, JetBlue, United Airlines, Virgin America, Alaska Airlines, and Delta Air Lines will be affected.

The lane closures will allow for the roadway excavation and heavy equipment foundation drilling that will allow construction crews “to make foundations for new columns” to support new security checkpoints. The billion-dollar airport renovation project, dubbed Project Journey, will also bring a new 14-gate concourse to the airport and an American Airlines members lounge.

Access to ticketing and check-in at Door 2 will be closed for several months starting Monday, March 19, and Door 5 will be closed beginning on Monday, March 26. Passengers will still be able to enter the terminal via doors 1, 3, 4, and 6.

To alleviate some of the congestion from the lane closures, terminal garages will be allowing up to an hour of free parking, though a Project Journey lane closure press release advises passengers to take Metro. Police officers will be stationed near the construction area, directing traffic through the work zone.

Photo courtesy of Project Journey/Reagan National.

Columbia Pike Partially Blocked Due to Drafthouse Damage

By ARLnow.com

The westbound lanes of Columbia Pike are temporarily closed due to damage to the outside of the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike).

On traffic cameras, the front panel of the Drafthouse’s marquee sign, which announces upcoming acts, could be seen dangling precariously in the wind. Firefighters are currently working to secure it and reopen the roadway ahead of rush hour.

While traffic is being diverted, there is another road hazard nearby. According to scanner reports, a large tree has fallen across 8th Street S. near the intersection with S. Walter Reed Drive.

More views of the dangling Drafthouse sign:

Update at 3:20 p.m. — All lanes of Columbia Pike have reopened. A photo of the tree down on 8th Street S. is below.

https://twitter.com/smugclimber/status/969668095349547009

I-66 Nighttime Lane Closures to Continue Through March

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Single-lane, overnight closures will continue on I-66 inside the Beltway through the end of March, according to VDOT.

Crews are completing survey and “geotechnical investigation work” related to the I-66 eastbound widening project.

The single lane closures are scheduled for between 9:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. nightly between I-495 and Fairfax Drive (Route 237). Shoulder closures are intermittently planned from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., weather permitting.

Real-time traffic information and lane and shoulder closure locations are available online.

More from the Virginia Department of Transportation press release:

The survey and geotechnical investigation work is needed prior to the start of construction that will add an additional through lane along four miles of eastbound I-66 between the Dulles Connector Road (Route 267) and Fairfax Drive (Exit 71) in Fairfax and Arlington counties. Other key project features include constructing a new bridge over Lee Highway for the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail and providing direct access from eastbound I-66 to the West Falls Church Metro station by constructing a new ramp connection between two existing ramps (eastbound I-66 to Route 7 and the eastbound I-66 collector-distributor road adjacent to the station’s parking garage).
The additional lane will be open to traffic in fall 2020 and the overall project is expected to be complete in fall 2021.

Separately, VDOT has also announced additional overnight lane closures on Route 110 near the Pentagon.

On Monday night, Feb. 12 and Tuesday night, Feb. 13 between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. each night, the northbound right lane of Route 110 at the Route 27 interchange and then the southbound right lane of Route 110 will be closed to allow crews to demolish and rebuild bridge piers, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The closures will remain in place for approximately two months.

The work is part of the Route 27 over Route 110 project, which is scheduled for completion this summer.

Photo courtesy of Michael Coffman

TRAFFIC ALERT: Crash Closes Two Lanes on SB 395

By Chris Teale

A multi-vehicle crash closed two southbound lanes of I-395 at the start of the evening rush hour today (Tuesday).

Police closed the center and left southbound lanes after the crash at around 3:45 p.m. near Mile Marker 7, just north of the Glebe Road exit. Cars could still get by slowly in the two right-hand lanes.

Backups were already reaching as far north as the Pentagon just after 4 p.m. Drivers in the area should expect delays.

SB I-395 Closes Due to Car Fire

By ARLnow.com
1/3

A car fire prompted a closure of southbound I-395 at Glebe Road this morning.

The incident started just before 8 a.m. A vehicle in the lefthand lanes adjacent to the Glebe exit somehow became fully engulfed in flames. The fire department responded and helped to extinguish the blaze.

The cleanup from the fire is ongoing but the right-hand lane of SB I-395 reopened around 9:30 a.m.

Photos courtesy Eric Davis

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

September Is National Preparedness Month — Arlington is marking National Preparedness month by reminding residents to sign up for emergency alerts, create an emergency plan and maintain disaster supplies. [Arlington County]

Crash on Columbia Pike — A car veered off the side of Columbia Pike and knocked a light pole over on the sidewalk in front of Lost Dog Cafe. No serious injuries were reported. The aftermath of the crash was caught on video. [Facebook]

Wreck Closes Northbound GW Parkway — Northbound traffic on the GW Parkway was diverted onto Spout Run Parkway for part of the AM rush hour due to a crash this morning near the overlooks. [Washington Post]

Rainy Day Today — Arlington can expect 0.5-1″ of rain throughout the day today as a cold front passes through. [Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by Chris Guyton

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