road closures

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Heat Advisory in Effect — Arlington and D.C. are under a Heat Advisory from noon to 8 p.m. today. The heat index this afternoon is expected to reach between 100 and 105 degrees. [National Weather Service, Twitter]

Hacked Sign Causes County Concern — ARLnow’s report about an electronic road sign near Shirlington being hacked to display a vulgar video game meme prompted a serious conversation at county government headquarters. “To some this is a ‘prank’ to me it is an indication of a lack of security on a portion of our [technology] infrastructure,” Arlington’s Chief Information Officer wrote in an internal email chain. “What if the message was ‘Terrorist Attack in Washington, please leave the area'[?]” [State Scoop]

Flag at Gov’t Buildings to Be Lowered for McCain — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has ordered the state flag lowered to half-staff until sunset on Sept. 2 in honor of the late Sen. John McCain. The order applies to all local, state and federal buildings in Virginia. [Twitter]

Late Night Ramp Closure Planned — “The ramp from the southbound George Washington Memorial Parkway to eastbound I-66 and westbound Route 50 (Arlington Boulevard) will be closed Wednesday night, Aug. 29 and Thursday night, Aug. 30 from midnight to 4 a.m. each night for work on the I-66 overpass, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.” [VDOT]

Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Road Closed Due to Downed Tree — Williamsburg Blvd is closed at N. Westmoreland Street due to a tree that fell overnight and took down several utility lines with it. Arlington’s emergency management office says the closure “may last through evening rush hour.” [Twitter]

Reminder: DUI Checkpoint Tonight — The Arlington County Police Department will conduct a sobriety checkpoint in an undisclosed location tonight. “Officers will stop all vehicles passing through the checkpoint and ask to see the licenses of drivers. Any driver suspected of operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol will be directed to a safe area off the roadway for further observation.” [Arlington County]

Metro Could Become Larger Financial Burden — “Metro expects to turn to state and local governments across the region to cover the costs of pay raises for workers an arbitration panel ordered last week, but the Metro Board chairman is warning of a more significant fiscal ‘ticking time bomb’ just over the horizon.” [WTOP]

Annual CivFed Candidate Forum Scheduled — “The unofficial kickoff to Arlington’s fall election season begins on Tuesday, Sept. 4, when the Arlington County Civic Federation holds its annual candidate forum. Candidates for 8th District U.S. House of Representatives, County Board and School Board have been invited to participate.” [InsideNova]

Basketball Player Punched at Gym — A man who plays professional basketball for LaVar Ball’s Junior Basketball Association says he was sucker punched while playing a pickup game at a Crystal City gym. [Fox 5]

One Hurt in Lee Highway Apartment Fire — A resident of a Lee Highway apartment building suffered burn injuries after a fire broke out in an apartment kitchen Wednesday morning. The fire was out by the time firefighters arrived on the scene. [Patch]

Flickr pool photo by Arlington VA

Sewer Bypass Work Closes Four Mile Run Trail Tomorrow

By Vernon Miles
1/2

A sanitary sewer realigning along S. Four Mile Run Drive will close the Four Mile Run Trail on Wednesday (Aug. 15).

Between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., the Four Mile Run Trail will be closed between S. Troy St. and S. Joyce St. But the bypass is just the beginning of the sewer repair impact — when construction begins on a fix for the main sewer line in September, the impact will spread to the surrounding roads.

A 2015 inspection of the sanitary sewer pipes in the area found substantial degradation, including roots lodged in sewer joints and small holes in the pipes. The closures on the Four Mile Run Trail are not related to the fixing of the actual pipes, but to install a bypass that will allow work on the damage pipe to occur without interrupting service to the area.

In September, work will begin on replacing a 60-inch section of pipe on S. Glebe Rd. between S Arlington Ridge Road and S. Joyce St. The right eastbound lane of S. Glebe will be closed during this time. Jersey barriers will be erected around the site with at least one lane of travel active in each direction.

The sidewalk on the south side of the affected stretch of S. Glebe Road will be closed during this time as well.

The S Glebe Road pipe replacement is tentatively scheduled to take 24 weeks, finishing in early 2019.

Photos via Arlington County

Shirlington Road Closure Planned for Signature Theatre Open House

By Melanie Pincus

Signature Theatre’s annual open house will take place in the Village at Shirlington between noon and 8:30 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 5), accompanied by a road closure.

The Arlington County Police Department will close Campbell Avenue from S. Arlington Mill Drive to S. Randolph Street from around 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. for the event.

Harris Teeter shoppers should plan to use the alternate entrance to the store’s parking garage while the road closure is in place, and street parking will be limited in the area.

The open house aims to introduce Signature Theatre’s 2018-19 season. Attractions include free performances, discounted tickets to upcoming shows and show merchandise at clearance prices.

Photo via Arlington County

Crystal City Twilighter 5K to Close Roads Saturday Night

By Melanie Pincus

The Crystal City Twilighter 5K will kick off tomorrow night (July 21) at 8:30 p.m., accompanied by several road closures.

Here are all of the affected roadways, according to the county:

6-11 p.m.

  • The entirety of Crystal Drive between 23rd Street and 20th Street

8-11 p.m.

  • Northbound lanes of Crystal Drive between 23rd Street and 26th Street
  • Northbound lanes of Crystal Drive between 12th Street and 20th Street
  • Northbound lanes between 12th Street and 15th Street
  • North and Southbound lanes of Long Bridge Drive as well all traffic around 6th, 10th, and Ball Streets

There will also be limited access to parking garages and restricted street parking on affected roads.

Photo courtesy Crystal City BID

BREAKING: Police Searching for Stabbing Suspect in Westover

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 9:05 a.m.) Arlington County Police are actively searching for a stabbing suspect in the Westover area.

Initial reports suggest that a woman stabbed a man in the shoulder in an apartment building on the 5700 block of Washington Blvd. His injuries are not reported to be life-threatening.

As of 8:45 a.m. Friday, Washington Blvd was closed between Patrick Henry Drive and N. Kenilworth Street due to the emergency response.

The suspect was described over police radio as a white female with red hair, between 5’5″ and 5’8″ and 130 lbs. She was wearing gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt at the time. Officers and a K-9 unit are canvassing the area looking for her.

Be on the Lookout for These July 4 Road Closures

By Alex Koma

The Fourth of July is nearly upon us, and that means a slew of office and road closings are on the way tomorrow (Wednesday).

All county government offices, courts, libraries and other facilities will be closed for Independence Day, and the county won’t enforce parking meter limits.

Arlington Transit will run buses along a few of its routes on Sunday schedules, but otherwise, bus service won’t be available around the county.

County police are also gearing up to close a variety of roads around Arlington to cope with crowds and Fourth of July events, and they also plan to restrict parking at popular fireworks viewing spots including the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, Long Bridge Park and the Air Force Memorial.

Full details on the road closures, from a county press release:

6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

  • Memorial Bridge/Memorial Circle

1 p.m. to 11 p.m.

  • Marshall Drive from Route 110 to N. Meade Street
  • N. Meade St. from 14th St. N. to Marshall Dr.

3 p.m. to 11 p.m.

  • Meade Street from Marshall Drive to Route 50 (access to the Ft. Myer Heights neighborhood will be from the Rhodes Street bridge)
  • Exit ramp from westbound Route 50 to N. Lynn Street (Rosslyn exit)
  • Exit ramp from eastbound Route 50 to N. Meade Street (Rosslyn exit)
  • Long Bridge Drive from Boundary Channel Drive to 10th Street S.

8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

  • Eastbound Route 50 at Washington Blvd. All traffic diverted from Rt. 50 on ramps to East and West Washington Blvd.
  • Eastbound N. 10th ramp to eastbound Rt. 50 will be closed, all traffic diverted to westbound Rt. 50
  • Courthouse Road ramp to eastbound Rt. 50 will be closed, all traffic diverted to westbound Rt. 50 or 10th Street N.
  • Pershing Drive at Rt. 50 will only be allowed westbound
  • Eastbound N. Fairfax Drive from N. Pierce Street to N. Fort Myer Drive
  • Columbia Pike between S. Orme Street and S. Joyce St.
  • Joyce Street between Army Navy Drive and Columbia Pike

Arlington parks will remain open for the holiday, though the county won’t be holding its annual Fourth of July celebration at Long Bridge Park this year due to budget constraints. Pools at Arlington Public Schools will also be open as usual, as will county spraygrounds, for anyone looking to cool off.

Trash and recycling collection will also proceed as normal.

Photo courtesy of Dennis Dimick

TRAFFIC ALERT: Military Road Closed Due to Downed Wires

By Alex Koma
1/2

Some downed wires have closed both lanes of Military Road in Donaldson Run.

County police say the wires are down along the 3000 block of the road, not far from Zachary Taylor Park and Taylor Elementary School.

A county traffic alert warns that the road will be closed for “an unknown amount of time,” and urges drivers to seek other routes.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Motorcycle Crash Closes Columbia Pike — Columbia Pike was closed in both directions for just over two hours this morning while police investigated a serious accident. A motorcycle reportedly crashed into a minivan between S. Frederick and Dinwiddie street, near the Arlington Mill Community Center. The motorcycle rider was seriously hurt and two people in the van were also taken to the hospital. [WJLA, Twitter]

Man Arrested for Threatening FCC Chair’s Family — A California man has been arrested and charged with sending emails that threatened to murder FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s family, over his support of the rollback of net neutrality rules. Pai has two children and lives in Arlington. Per an affidavit, one of the emails “listed the names and addresses of three preschools located in or around Arlington, Virginia, followed by the following sentence: ‘I will find your children and I will kill them.'” [Gizmodo, Washington Post]

Car Fire in Cherrydale — A car caught on fire in the garage of an apartment building in Cherrydale early this morning. No one was hurt. The cause of the fire is under investigation. [Twitter, Twitter]

Plane Evacuated on DCA Tarmac — “Passengers were forced to evacuate a United Airlines plane at Reagan National Airport on Sunday after smoke was reported in the cabin… The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said that about 1 p.m. Sunday, Houston-bound flight 6122 was taxiing for takeoff when emergency crews were called for a report of smoke in the cabin. The plane’s emergency slides were deployed, and all passengers and crew members exited ‘without incident.'” [Washington Post, Fox News]

Lee Highway Planning to Move Forward? — “It’s been delayed, delayed and delayed some more. But, Arlington’s top elected official promises, the long-awaited study of development options along the Lee Highway corridor will be up and running by the end of the year.” [InsideNova]

Photo courtesy R. Johnson

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Free Admission at New Observation Deck — The new observation deck in Rosslyn is holding “Arlington County residents day” this weekend. Arlington County residents with valid ID can present it at the Observation Deck at CEB Tower box office for free admission from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. [Observation Deck at CEB Tower]

Stanley Cup to Visit ACPD Today — The Arlington County Police Department is set for a visit from the Alexander Ovechkin, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and the Stanley Cup today. [WUSA 9]

Pike May Get New ‘Showplace’ Library — “The current two-story community library in the corridor is tucked away on the Arlington Career Center campus, which is slated for a massive, if currently undefined, redevelopment effort in coming years. A library space is expected to be part of the redevelopment package, but county officials are looking at other options, including a full-frontal signature space facing Columbia Pike itself.” [InsideNova]

Road Closures for 5K Race — Several roads will be closed in and around Pentagon City Saturday morning for the 2018 ZERO Prostate Cancer Run/Walk/Dash for Dads 5K Race. [Arlington County, ZERO]

Flickr pool photo by GM and MB

Columbia Pike Blues Fest Returns Saturday

By Melanie Pincus
1/7

The 23rd annual Columbia Pike Blues Festival will take place this Saturday (June 16) from 1-8:30 p.m.

The event is free and will take place near the intersection of S. Walter Reed Drive and Columbia Pike. Singer/songwriter Don Bryant will headline the festival, which features blues, R&B and funk performers of regional and national acclaim.

Performances begin at 1 p.m. with Three Man Soul Machine, who will be followed by Caz Gardiner at 2 p.m. and King Soul Band at 3:30 p.m. Nikki Hill will take the stage at 5 p.m. ahead of Bryant’s 6:45 p.m. set.

The festival will also offer activities in the Arlington Art Truck, a reading from Arlington poet laureate Katherine E. Young, arts and crafts for sale from local artists and businesses, such as Hannah Huthwaite and Marney and Swa, as well as food, drink and booths from vendors and community organizations.

Saturday’s weather forecast calls for near-perfect weather: partly cloudy skies and a high of 85 degrees.

As in past years, the event will prompt several road closures from around 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, according to a county press release.

A full list of road closures is below:

  • Walter Reed Drive, from Columbia Pike to 9th Street S. (detour: 7th Street S. westbound to Highland Street)
  • 9th Road, from S. Garfield Street to Walter Reed Drive
  • 9th Street, from S. Highland Street to Walter Reed Drive

Photo courtesy Columbia Pike Documentary Project

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