road closures

Weeknight Lane Closures for Ballston Quarter Pedestrian Bridge Construction Bumped to Mid-March

By Alex Koma
1/5

Construction work on the Ballston Quarter pedestrian bridge will prompt yet more road closures tonight (Friday), but the more extensive work set for weeknights is on hold for a bit.

For the second straight week, workers plan to close Wilson Blvd between N. Randolph and N. Stuart streets starting at 8 p.m tonight through Sunday at 6 p.m.

Workers lifted the bridge’s frame into place over Wilson last month, where it will eventually connect the newly revamped Ballston Quarter development with the neighborhood’s Metro station, running through the Ballston Exchange development at 4201 Wilson Blvd.

However, the four months of work set to snarl traffic in Ballston on weeknights is on hold, county officials announced this week. They’d originally planned to start closing the eastbound lanes of Wilson Blvd to allow for more glass installation on the bridge starting Monday night.

“Due to recent inclement weather, installation work on the pedestrian bridge was delayed,” Will Voegele, senior vice president for mixed-use development at Brookfield Properties (the company that bought Ballston Quarter developer Forest City) wrote in a statement.

“Barring any additional weather-related delays, construction will continue to move forward as scheduled,” he added.

The county says that weeknight closures will now begin on March 17. From 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night, the eastbound lanes of Wilson Blvd will be off-limits to drivers for the next eight weeks. Then, they’ll close the westbound lanes for another eight weeks.

This is far from the first delay for this project, or Ballston Quarter as a whole. Forest City had originally hoped to have the bridge open in time for stores to begin opening at the development this fall, before pushing back construction for months.

The developer has also missed its own targets for opening some stores to customers, and it’s currently unclear where things stand with its new food court. A few restaurants are now open in the new “Quarter Market,” but it’s unclear when the full, 14-restaurant food hall will be ready.

Photo 1 via @ArlingtonDES

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Crash Closes Part of Parkway — A serious crash has closed the northbound lanes of the GW Parkway between the Daingerfield Island marina and I-395. A crash investigation is underway. [Twitter]

False Report Prompts Big Police Response — “At approximately 2:30 p.m. on March 6, police were dispatched to the report of a man brandishing a firearm in the lobby of” the Days Inn hotel on Arlington Blvd. “The investigation determined that no disturbance had occurred and that the reporting party allegedly had an ongoing dispute with the hotel over a refund. A warrant for Filing a False Police Report was obtained for the suspect.” [Arlington County]

Garage Races Cancelled This Weekend — Updated at 9:35 a.m. — Crystal City’s Crosshairs Garage Races series will continue to bring fearless cyclists and spectators together for races through one of the neighborhood’s sprawling parking garages later this month. This year the series is being held on Saturdays in March, but this weekend’s scheduled races have been canceled due to a water main break. [Crystal City, Twitter]

Local Road Project ‘On the Bubble’ — “With tolls set to begin on Interstate 395 in October and already underway for more than a year on Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission is set Thursday to consider the next steps of how to spend part of the money… Arlington County plans for a High Occupancy Vehicle and bus-only lane on Lee Highway in Rosslyn would be on the bubble.” [WTOP]

Remember to ‘Spring Forward’ This Weekend — “On Sunday, March 10, at 2 am, daylight saving time begins. We’ll set our clocks forward one hour, and the change will push sunsets later into the evening hours and sunrises later into the morning hours.” [Vox]

Workers Kick Off Four Months of Ballston Quarter Pedestrian Bridge Construction Tonight

By Alex Koma
1/6

Workers might’ve lifted the new Ballston Quarter pedestrian bridge into place over Wilson Blvd, but it won’t be ready for walkers for months yet.

The county announced yesterday (Thursday) that another four months of work are scheduled on the bridge, which is designed to connect the newly revamped Ballston Quarter development with the neighborhood’s Metro station, linked through the Ballston Exchange development at 4201 Wilson Blvd.

That work means that more road closures are underway on a busy Ballston street.

Tonight (Friday), Wilson Blvd will close between N. Randolph and N. Stuart streets starting at 8 p.m. It won’t reopen until Sunday at 6 p.m.

Then, starting Monday (March 4), county officials say they plan to close the eastbound lanes of Wilson Blvd overnight on weekdays for the next eight weeks. The closure will run from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night, and they’re designed to allow time for “glass installation” on the bridge.

Once that wraps up, workers will close the westbound lanes of Wilson overnight for the next eight weeks to allow for the completion of that work.

Ballston Quarter’s developer, Forest City, also recently secured the County Board’s blessing to continue to use Mosaic Park as a construction staging area through March 22. The developer used the space to assemble the bridge, temporarily delaying planned renovations for the park.

Forest City had hoped to have the bridge ready in time for the development to start opening to customers last fall, but quickly realized it would need more time for the project.

It’s one of many delays for the redevelopment of the old Ballston Common mall — not only has the developer missed its own targets for opening stores to customers, but it’s currently unclear just when its new food court may open for business.

Photo 1 via @ArlingtonDES

TRAFFIC ALERT: Morning Road Closures Due Crashes, Downed Trees

By ARLnow.com

Closures on a number of major commuter routes snarled traffic in parts of Arlington Monday morning.

Most recently — around 9:15 a.m. — a two-vehicle crash with three reported injuries happened on N. Glebe Road at Cathedral Lane, blocking northbound traffic at Route 50.

Northbound Route 110, meanwhile, was closed between Memorial Circle and Marshall Drive due to a crash involving a vehicle that reportedly ran off the road.

Just north of Ballston, downed trees blocked several roads, including the southbound lanes of N. Glebe Road near 16th Street. Nearly 200 Dominion customers are without power in the area, according to the utility’s outage map, below.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Another Food Hall Coming to Rosslyn — “Two local hospitality ventures have already announced plans for food halls in Rosslyn, and now a third food hall-type venue is being floated for the Arlington neighborhood. Even weirder? All three are on the same block of North Moore Street, the street where the Rosslyn Metro station is located.” [Washington Business Journal]

HQ2 Boosting Real Estate Market — “Real-estate professionals from across the local area already are seeing spring-level interest among prospective buyers, raising hopes for a solid start to the year. ‘The Amazon HQ2 announcement, plus favorable interest rates and a relatively mild winter, have all contributed to bringing the buyers out early this year,’ Northern Virginia Association of Realtors president Christine Richardson said.” [InsideNova]

Local Healthcare Firm Makes Acquisition — “Arlington-based Advantia Health LLC has acquired Illinois-based OB-GYN practice Heartland Women’s Healthcare in a deal that nearly doubled the local group’s size overnight.” [Washington Business Journal]

‘Coffee with a Cop’ Next Week — “The Arlington County Police Department, in partnership with the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City is hosting its next Coffee with a Cop event on February 26, providing the public with an opportunity to meet and interact with the department’s Community Outreach Teams.” [Arlington County]

More Ballston Road Closures Planned — Additional road closures are planned along Wilson Blvd near the mall this weekend for continued work on the new Ballston pedestrian bridge. [Twitter]

‘Tree Action Group’ No Fan of Bike Trails — The Arlington Tree Action Group, a vocal local activist organization that often speaks out against plans to cut down trees, is apparently no big fan of bike trails. In response to a photo of a dog in front of the Eden Center after Wednesday’s snow, the group wrote on Twitter: “To [sic] bad the County doesn’t care how icy the sidewalks are as long as the bike trails and the other trendy County thoroughfares are clear.” The Eden Center, however, is in the City of Falls Church. [Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

Workers Will Install Ballston Quarter Pedestrian Bridge This Weekend, Prompting Road Closures

By Alex Koma
1/5

Workers are installing a new and improved pedestrian bridge over Wilson Blvd in Ballston this weekend, but that will mean some major road closures.

The new bridge is designed to connect the newly revamped Ballston Quarter with the neighborhood’s Metro station, with a link through the Ballston Exchange development at 4201 Wilson Blvd.

Ballston Quarter’s developer, Forest City, originally hoped to have the bridge ready in time for stores at the former Ballston Common mall to start opening up late last year. But the project ran into a few logistical delays, before ramping up in earnest in December.

Workers have been busily been assembling the bridge in Mosaic Park for the last few months, and they’ll now use a series of cranes to transport the 94-ton bridge to its permanent home over Wilson with road closures starting today (Friday).

County police say they’ll start by closing N. Quincy Street, between Wilson Boulevard and 5th Road N., in both directions at 2 p.m. today.

Then, starting at 7 p.m. tonight and running through noon Saturday, they’ll close the following:

  • Wilson Boulevard, between N. Oakland Street and N. Stuart Street
  • N. Randolph Street, between 9th Street N. and 5th Road N.
  • N. Quincy Street, between 9th Street N. and 5th Road N.
  • N. Pollard Street, between 9th Street N. and 6th Street N.
  • N. Piedmont Street, between Wilson Boulevard and 7th Street N.

Police say that people living along those roads will be able to enter and exit, but only at the direction of officers.

But the bulk of the work will happen from noon Saturday through 6 p.m. Sunday while the bridge is actually installed. That means Wilson Boulevard will be entirely closed between N. Randolph Street and N. Stuart Street.

Police are also encouraging drivers to use N. Glebe Road and Fairfax Drive as alternate routes to avoid Wilson Boulevard this weekend. Street parking in the area will also be restricted and drivers should be on the lookout for temporary “No Parking” signs.

Photo 1 via @btj, photo 4 via @ArlingtonDES

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Longtime Election Director Retiring — “Linda Lindberg, who has served for 16 years as elections chief in Arlington, on Feb. 2 formally announced she would not seek re-appointment and would retire over the summer. The move had been expected, and Lindberg’s service drew praise from members of the Arlington Electoral Board.” [InsideNova]

Northam Signs HQ2 Bill — “Amid fallout over a racist photo, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has signed legislation which would carry out the state’s promise to Amazon for up to $750 million in incentives if it creates almost 38,000 jobs at its new Arlington County headquarters.” [Washington Post, Washington Business Journal]

Board Wants Project Labor Agreement for HQ2 — “[Arlington County Board member Katie] Cristol says that Northern Virginia is working on protecting labor during Amazon’s forthcoming development of Crystal City through what’s called a project labor agreement, which is a legal document that establishes the terms and conditions for employment on a construction project before it solicits bids.” [DCist]

Cycling Bill Advances in State Senate — A bill that would “classify cyclists as vulnerable road users deserving special protection under the law” has passed the Virginia State Senate. [Twitter, Virginia LIS]

Road Closures for 5K Race — “The annual Love the Run You’re With 5K will take place in the area of Pentagon City on Sunday, February 10, 2019. The Arlington County Police Department will implement [a number of] road closures to accommodate the race.” [Arlington County]

Fire at Fire Works Pizza in Courthouse

By ARLnow.com
1/6

Fire Works Pizza in Courthouse is temporarily closed due to a fire Saturday afternoon.

The fire broke out around 1:30 p.m. at the restaurant, near the corner of Clarendon Blvd and N. Adams Street, but the flames were mostly confined to the kitchen and the restaurant’s duct work and exhaust system, which extends to the roof.

Roads around the restaurant, which is located on the ground floor of a Residence Inn hotel, were closed for more than an hour as firefighters worked to extinguish the fire inside the duct work. Smoke could be seen coming from the roof as firefighters arrived.

Fire Works remained closed as firefighters packed up. A county health inspector and building inspector were called to the scene to evaluate the damage, though no serious damage could be seen through the restaurant’s windows.

No injuries were reported.

More from the Arlington County Fire Department:

Photo (top) courtesy @samerfarha

TRAFFIC ALERT: 14th Street Bridge HOV Lanes Blocked by Crash

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11:35 a.m.) All lanes of the HOV span of the 14th Street Bridge are blocked by a serious crash.

Four vehicles are involved, one person is trapped in their vehicle and four people are injured, D.C. Fire and EMS said via Twitter. Of the four injuries, one is considered serious while the other three are considered minor.

Firefighters are currently working to free the person trapped in a vehicle.

Major Road Conditions Improve, But County Urges People to Stay Home As Snow Removal Continues

By Alex Koma
`
1/10

(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) The snowflakes have finally stopped falling, and now Arlingtonians are starting to dig out from the first big snow storm of the new year.

With county schools and offices all closed (to say nothing of the federal government), traffic is light on area roads and highways. All Arlington Department of Parks and Recreation facilities have also since been closed, and all programs cancelled.

But if you do need to venture out today (Monday), highways and even most highly trafficked roads around the county look pretty clear.

However, crews are still working to reach many neighborhood streets, and county police are urging people to stay off the road, if possible.

Metrorail service is running as normal, but many Metrobus routes are delayed due to icy conditions. WMATA says the 16C, 16E, 16G, 23B and 28A routes could all be affected.

Arlington Transit buses are running on reduced schedules on the 41, 51, 55 and 87 lines, while service on the 77 line is currently suspended. Virginia Railway Express won’t run any trains today.

Be sure to check with the organizers of any events you might’ve planned on attending tonight, as many have already been cancelled. For instance, the county has called off its open house on longe-range planning for new cycling infrastructure, originally set to be held at Phoenix Bikes.

If you are at home today, you might want to break out the snow shovel — a county ordinance calls for all residents and businesses to clear off adjacent sidewalks by 3 p.m. Tuesday.

UPDATED: County, Federal Governments Closed Monday As Crews Try to Clear Primary Roads

By ARLnow.com
1/10

Update at 10:25 p.m. — Arlington County government will be closed Monday. As a result, there will be no curbside trash pickup Monday; service will resume when the county government reopens. Arlington snow crews are also reverting back to “Phase 2” of the county’s snow plan, meaning plows will stop treating neighborhood streets and will resume treating primary and secondary arterial streets only.

The extra burst of snow Sunday evening has caused problems at local airports. There are reports of extensive delays, extended waits on the tarmac and frustrated passengers at Reagan National Airport.

Another impact of the extra burst of snow Sunday evening: Arlington Transit Service.

“Due to inclement weather, ART will begin service on Monday, Jan. 14 at 8:00am with *Severe* service on ART 41, 51, 55 and 87,” ART said Sunday night. “Service on ART 77 will remain suspended until further notice.”

Update at 9:45 p.m. — The federal government — the parts of it that are not furloughed, at least — is closed Monday, according to the Office of Personnel Management. Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall is also closed. Among other closures, earlier today Arlington Public Schools announced that Monday will be a snow day, with all classes and activities cancelled.

Earlier: This weekend’s snowstorm isn’t done yet.

A prolonged period of steady snow is blanketing local roads after an afternoon lull that saw Arlington snow crews move their focus from arterial roads to neighborhood streets. The burst of snow has caused treacherous conditions in parts of the county and prompted a number of road closures.

“Many roads are becoming impassable due to weather conditions,” Arlington’s office of emergency management wrote shortly before 5:30 p.m. “Motorists are urged to stay off the roads to allow crews to treat the roadways. Conditions are expected to deteriorate as temperatures continue to drop.”

Around 7 p.m., all Metrobus service was suspended amid reports of buses getting stuck on hills. An hour and a half later, Arlington Transit announced that it was suspending service for the rest of the night.

Arlington County Police, Arlington’s Dept of Environmental Services and VDOT are all urging residents to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary tonight into Monday morning.

A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until midnight tonight.

…WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT… * WHAT…PERIODS OF SNOW. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES EXPECTED. * WHERE…THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MARYLAND AND NORTHERN AND NORTHWEST VIRGINIA. * WHEN…UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS…TRAVEL WILL BE VERY DIFFICULT DUE TO SNOW COVERED AND SLIPPERY ROADS. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL, KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT, FOOD AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. THE LATEST ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE STATE YOU ARE CALLING FROM CAN BE OBTAINED BY CALLING 5 1 1. &&

Arlington appears likely to clock in at around 10 inches of snow accumulation by the time the flakes stop falling, though as much as a foot remains possible.

Among other trouble spots in Arlington, photos and video sent to ARLnow show cars and buses getting stuck on the hills around Rosslyn and Courthouse. And even emergency responders are having trouble; ACFD engine 108 reported around 6:45 p.m. that it had gotten stuck on a hill in the area of Rock Spring Road and 32nd Road N. and needed a tow truck.

Power outages have also been reported in Arlington. As of 6:30 p.m. just over 1,000 Dominion customers were in the dark around the county, primarily in the Tara-Leeway Heights, High View Park and Westover neighborhoods.

Another 1-3 inches of snow is possible through midnight, the National Weather Service said in a Special Weather Statement this evening.

“Icy roads are possible as the snow melts on the roads then quickly refreezes,” the statement notes. “Conditions can deteriorate rapidly in winter weather situations. Be prepared for snow or ice covered roads. Slow down and allow extra time when traveling.”

From midnight through 5:30 p.m. today, troopers from Virginia State Police’s Fairfax Division responded to 68 crashes and 81 disabled vehicles around Northern Virginia. VSP responded to 324 crashes statewide so far today.

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