road closures

Afternoon Notes: Chain Bridge Closure

By ARLnow.com

Last Chain Bridge Closure — Starting around 9:00 tonight Chain Bridge will once again close completely to traffic and pedestrians. Crews will be working to repave the bridge deck, the Washington Post reports. The bridge is expected to reopen on Monday morning. This should be the last full closure of the bridge, which has been undergoing a year-long rehabilitation process.

Berry Officially Joins Young Guns List — GOP congressional candidate Matthew Berry has been officially listed as “On the Radar” on the National Republican Congressional Campaign’s “Young Guns” website. The list recognizes congressional contenders who have achieved certain fundraising goals.

Murray Objects to Straw Poll — Patrick Murray, Berry’s competitor for the eighth district GOP nomination, sent a strongly-worded email to supporters calling a straw poll that will be conducted at Saturday’s district Republican convention “illegitimate.” Murray says charging $20 for votes and not limiting the number of votes conflicts “with many principles for which our Republican Party stands.” Murray’s campaign also objects to the possibility of illegal aliens voting in the straw poll, since identification won’t be required.

Slapsticon Returns to Rosslyn Spectrum — The Slapsticon vintage comedy film festival is returning to Rosslyn this summer. The Spectrum Theater will host the festival from July 15-18. Read more here.

Flickr Pool photo by tadnkat

Roads to Close Sunday for Pacers Running Festival

By ARLnow.com

A number of roads around Arlington will be closed between 6:00 and 11:00 Sunday morning for the Pacers Running Festival half marathon.

Among the closures:

  • The 1000 block of Wilson Boulevard
  • Southbound lane of Route 110
  • The Northbound exit from Route 110 to Wilson Boulevard
  • Rt. 27 (Washington Boulevard) in both directions from I-395 and Washington Boulevard to the Pentagon
  • Columbia Pike at Pentagon South Parking

Accident Shuts Down George Mason Drive At Rt. 50

By ARLnow.com

South George Mason Drive was been shut down from Route 50 to Columbia Pike today due to an accident involving a construction vehicle.

It happened near the National Guard Readiness Center, where a considerable amount of construction is taking place.

The raised boom of an excavator struck overhead power lines while it was traveling north on George Mason Drive, police said. The impact caused an adjacent transformer power pole to splinter and collapse, and caused live power and communications lines to fall onto the street.

As of 2:30 this afternoon, the road has partially reopened. It is expected to fully reopen in time for the evening rush hour. It will then close again around 7:00 so Dominion Power crews can make further repairs.

BREAKING NEWS — Glebe Road Partially Closed After Accident

By ARLnow.com

Update at 7:30 a.m. — The closed southbound lane of Glebe Road has reopened.

Glebe Road is partially shut down between Columbia Pike and 8th Street South after a van crashed into a utility pole.

The force of the collision splintered the pole. Crews from Dominion power are currently working to stabilize it.

Both northbound lanes of Glebe Road are expected to remain closed until noon.

Chain Bridge Closed This Weekend

By ARLnow.com

Just a reminder: as we reported on Tuesday, Chain Bridge will be completely closed to traffic and pedestrians this weekend.

With sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 70s, it looks like the repair work, which has been delayed three times due to weather, will finally go on as scheduled.

The bad news: when combined with Saturday’s National Marathon and anti-war protests, it’s a recipe for major traffic headaches, especially if you’re trying to drive from Arlington into the District.

Also of note, a planned lane closure on westbound Route 50, which has been delayed nearly a month, will be happening “soon,” according to (of all sources) a road sign. Route 50 does not show up, however, in a list of VDOT’s planned closures for this weekend.

Fourth Time’s a Charm for Chain Bridge Closure?

By ARLnow.com

Road crews will try again to perform reconstruction work on the deck of Chain Bridge this weekend. The work will completely close Chain Bridge to traffic and pedestrians from 8:00 p.m. Friday to 5:00 a.m. Monday.

This is the fourth attempt to perform the repair work. The first two scheduled closures were snowed out; this past weekend’s planned closure was rained out.

Motorists are asked to seek alternate routes across the Potomac this weekend. Possible detours include the American Legion, Key, Roosevelt, Memorial and 14th Street Bridges.

President Obama Speaks in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

President Obama spoke at OPOWER, a small energy efficiency business based in Courthouse, just before noon today.

A helicopter hovered overhead as roads around Courthouse were shut down for the president’s motorcade.

The president spoke for ten minutes about clean energy jobs. He also addressed new unemployment figures that revealed the loss of an additional 36,000 jobs in February.

“Even though it’s better than expected, it’s more than we should tolerate,” Mister Obama said of the job losses.

The president also took a tour of the OPOWER offices, greeting employees and cracking jokes. From the White House Pool Report:

Obama took a tour of the smallish office, stopping by each row of 12 two-computer rows to talk to employees, asking what they did. He joked a lot about the youth of the workforce. “Is there anybody over 30 who works here?” Obama asked, prompting laughs.

Here’s some background on OPOWER, which the president praised as “a model of what we want to be seeing all across the country.” The information is provided by the company.

OPOWER is a 75-person Smart Grid and Energy Efficiency software company that partners with utilities to help people use less energy by giving them better information.

OPOWER delivers its services to two million households and works with six of the ten largest utilities in the country and twenty-five utilities overall.

OPOWER is projected to save existing customers more than $250 million over the next three years. If the OPOWER model were deployed nationwide, it would save enough energy to power 3 million homes.

OPOWER grew from 30-60 people in 2009, and expects to add 100 new people in 2010.

The Administration’s focus and commitment on the creation of a clean energy economy – including the Recovery Act – has directly and indirectly supported OPOWER’s growth.

OPOWER’s corporate headquarters is located at 1515 N. Courthouse Road.

A transcript of the president’s speech, after the jump.

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