Arlington Ridge Road is blocked by a downed utility pole following a crash, according to scanner traffic.
A vehicle reportedly ran into the pole along the 1900 block of Arlington Ridge Road, toppling it and blocking the street. At least one person is being evaluated for injuries by paramedics.
Arlington Ridge Road, a busy commuter route for those exiting from I-395, is closed between 19th and 20th Streets S. Police are on scene directing traffic.
Image via Google Map
Work to rebuild the Wilson School in Rosslyn could cause some inconveniences for those in the area as crews closed a sidewalk and street near the project.
Due to construction at the school at 1601 Wilson Blvd, 18th Street N. is closed to non-construction traffic between N. Quinn Street and N. Oak Street for the entirety of the project.
And pedestrians walking along that side of Wilson Blvd near the soon-to-be-rebuilt Fire Station 210 and a 7-Eleven convenience store will need to cross over as the sidewalk outside the school is closed too.
Construction on the new $100 million building appears to be underway, with work expected to be done in fall 2019. It will house 775 students from the future H-B Woodlawn and Stratford programs.
(Updated at 10:30 a.m.) Military Road is closed between 30th and 31st Streets N. due to a reported downed tree and power lines.
It appears that a large tree fell on lines and and across the road. Crews from Arlington County, Dominion and a tree contractor are on the scene.
Nearly 75 Dominion customers are without power, according to the power company’s website.
Police are redirecting traffic around the closure. Officers expect it to be a “prolonged” closure, according to scanner traffic.
Update at 4:15 p.m. — The road has reopened, police say.
Military Road has reopened. https://t.co/JAZrIg3lJY
— ArlingtonCountyPD (@ArlingtonVaPD) August 17, 2017
Photo (3) via Google Maps
Crews started moving in this morning (Tuesday, August 15) to begin work to give the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial — also known as the Iwo Jima memorial — a facelift.
The work will limit public access to the memorial and surrounding parkland until next year. In signs posted near the memorial and the Netherlands Carillon, the National Park Service said the revamp includes washing and waxing the memorial and re-gilding its lettering, repairing any parts of the granite plaza that have become damaged, improving lighting, and installing new signs, shrubs and trees.
The roadway and footpath around the memorial will also be repaved.
“The road will be rebuilt in its current configuration, but with materials to better support the heavy weight of the many tour buses that use the road daily,” NPS said in a press release.
As of Tuesday morning, crews were putting up detour signs for road and trail users, as the access road to the memorial’s parking lot will be closed. In an announcement of the work, NPS said the memorial will be surrounded by scaffolding for much of the project, but pedestrians can still access the memorial plaza from N. Meade Street. Buses will have a small area for pick-up and drop-off on N. Meade Street also.
The $5.37 million project is funded by a donation from local philanthropist David Rubenstein, who has also used some of his multi-billion dollar fortune to fund the Washington Monument’s post-earthquake repairs, enrich the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ endowment and gave $12.35 million to the Arlington House Robert E. Lee museum in Arlington National Cemetery.
NPS said public access will be limited until February 2018. The memorial was dedicated in 1954 by President Dwight Eisenhower and receives 1.5 million visitors per year.
Emergency repairs to a 6-foot-deep sinkhole near the under-construction Ballston Quarter mall could cause traffic headaches today (Thursday).
The sinkhole opened suddenly yesterday near the intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. Randolph Street, but was quickly covered ahead of repairs to allow cars to keep driving over it.
A contractor at the scene said the hole is about 3 feet wide and 6 feet deep.
To accommodate contractors’ vehicles and tools, the westbound right lane of Wilson Blvd and the parking lane are closed, while the eastbound left-turn lane at the intersection will be used as a westbound lane. With renovations to the former Ballston Common Mall on the other side of the street also closing lanes, it means Wilson Blvd will be down to one lane in each direction.
8/10: Emergency sinkhole repair at N Randolph St/Wilson Blvd intersection (5a-4p) barring complications. Detours will be in place #VATraffic
— Arlington DES (@ArlingtonDES) August 9, 2017
Originally, there had been plans to close one lane in each direction on N. Randolph Street too, but the contractor said that would no longer be the case.
Complicating matters in that area of Ballston will be the construction crew’s removal of a stoplight just outside the mall. The contractor on the sinkhole repairs warned that the two projects could combine to make traffic a little “hectic” in that section of Wilson Blvd.
Work on repairing the sinkhole is expected to be complete around 4 p.m.
(Updated 3:15 p.m.) Police temporarily closed Wilson Blvd at its intersection with N. Danville Street in Clarendon after two cars crashed this afternoon.
The crash occurred around 2:40 p.m., involving a blue Toyota and a white car. The white car had its front bumper ripped off in the collision, while the Toyota was damaged on its left side. The intersection is near Whole Foods and Market Common.
Officers temporarily closed Wilson Blvd near the intersection and diverted traffic onto other streets. According to scanner traffic, one person suffered minor injuries.
Fairlington to Trap Raccoons — Following two well-publicized raccoon attacks in the past week, the Fairlington Villages condo association is taking action. In a letter to residents, the association says its Board of Directors has “authorized management to engage a wild animal control contractor to begin a program of trapping raccoons on the property.”
County Moves Forward on Fairfax Drive Ownership — “Arlington County wants to own State Route 237 (Fairfax Drive/10th St. North) from roughly Ballston to Courthouse. The County Board voted at its July 18, 2017 meeting to request that the Commonwealth transfer ownership of the stretch of road to Arlington.” [Arlington County]
Arlington Mulls Lee Highway Ownership — Now that it owns Columbia Pike and is requesting ownership of Fairfax Drive, should Arlington also consider asking VDOT for ownership of Lee Highway? “It’s an intriguing idea,” said one County Board member. [InsideNova]
Darbys Dish on Their Split — Even friends of Real Housewives of Potomac castmates Ashley and Michael Darby might not have suspected that the couple had split up before revealing it on a RHOP reunion show. The pair, who jointly own Oz restaurant in Clarendon, “still spend time together socially” but as of February both have separate apartments in Arlington. [Bravo]
Road Closures for 5K Race in Crystal City — The annual Crystal City Twilighter 5K race will shut down parts of Crystal Drive, Long Bridge Drive and other adjacent roads Saturday night. [Arlington County]
Photo courtesy “ARLnow Reader”
(Updated at 5:15 p.m.) Police closed westbound Interstate 66 near the Rosslyn tunnel Friday afternoon after a three-vehicle crash.
Units from the Arlington County Fire Department responded to the scene under Rosslyn Gateway Park with Virginia State Police just after 3:30 p.m after reports of the crash.
Three patients were transported to the hospital with injuries, according to scanner traffic.
Officers and crews from the Virginia Department of Transportation blocked all lanes of westbound I-66 and diverted traffic in the area onto Lee Highway. Delays are likely to continue into the evening rush hour, although police said they will look to reopen one westbound lane soon.
#Rosslyn WB I-66 traffic diverted onto Lee Hwy, Exit 73 for a crash in the Rosslyn Tunnel #vatraffic #dctraffic https://t.co/nb3VFR1abs
— WTOP Traffic (@WTOPtraffic) July 14, 2017
(Updated 12.55 p.m.) Residents in North Rosslyn have been without water since yesterday (Monday) afternoon after a water main break on N. Scott Street.
Crews from Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services have been making emergency repairs since last night at 1815 N. Scott Street.
(1/2) Emergency water repairs are taking place at 1815 N Scott St. The water service for approximately 50-100 customers will be affected.
— Arlington DES (@ArlingtonDES) July 11, 2017
Hi, Thanks for the message. Repairs are expected to be completed by 3 pm. We'll be sure to update if this changes.
— Arlington DES (@ArlingtonDES) July 11, 2017
A department spokesman said they expect work to be complete and water service restored by 3 p.m. Tuesday, and that the service for 50-100 people has been affected. A traffic detour has been in place in the area, with N. Scott Street closed, including its sidewalks.
The spokesman said a contractor installing a cable drilled through a 16-inch water pipe.
In a post on the North Rosslyn Civic Association’s online forum, local resident Paul Derby said the break came after contractors for Comcast installing fiber in the neighborhood accidentally drilled through the water main.
“Hopefully, Comcast will fully reimburse Arlington County for the cost of these repairs,” Derby wrote. “One wonders how a piece of underground infrastructure as large as this water main could be missed or wrongly interpreted when the utility markings were done.”
Photo No. 1 via Twitter user @lizvanwazer
Rough Day on the Roads — An already rain-soaked Thursday was made worse after a tree fell across the eastbound lanes of I-66, blocking the highway during the morning rush hour. Later, the southbound lanes of the GW Parkway were closed near the Key Bridge due to a crash. [WJLA, Washington Post]
Running of the Bulls Viewing Party — New Spanish restaurant Pamplona in Clarendon is hosting its first annual Running of the Bulls viewing party on Saturday. [Facebook]
Arlington Helps Out With Falls Church Graduation — Arlington voluntarily shifted its high school graduation schedule to help Falls Church’s George Mason High School get a graduation ceremony spot at D.A.R. Constitution Hall last month. [InsideNova]
Nearby: Affordable Housing Decline in Alexandria — There was a 90 percent drop in affordable housing units in Alexandria between 2000 and 2017 and the decline is likely to continue without the construction of more dedicated affordable units. [WAMU]
Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf
Arlington County government offices will be closed on July 4 for the Independence Day holiday, as well as libraries and other facilities.
Metered parking will not be enforced July 4, but street parking near the Iwo Jima Memorial, Long Bridge Park and the Air Force Memorial will be restricted.
County courts and the DMV offices, including DMV Select, will be closed July 3-4.
With large crowds expected for the fireworks on the National Mall, as well as Arlington’s own celebration at Long Bridge Park, police will close the following roads:
6 a.m. – 11 p.m.
1 p.m. to 11 p.m.
3 p.m. to 11. p.m.
8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Flickr pool photo by Ddimick
