traffic light

Emergency Vehicle Preemption, Fiber Optic Line Approved

By ARLnow.com

The county board has approved two projects designed to improve traffic flow and reduce emergency response times.

The board awarded a $651,000 contract to install an emergency vehicle preemption system along the entire Arlington stretch of Lee Highway. The system will allow emergency vehicles to get an automatic green light at approaching intersections, thus reducing travel times and enhancing safety.

“Emergency vehicle preemption technology is critical to saving lives by giving responders safe, speedy passage through intersections and cutting precious minutes off the time it takes to get patients to life-saving care at a hospital,” Arlington Fire Chief James Schwartz said in a statement.

The board also awarded a $4.7 million contract to install six miles of fiber optic line. The line will run from Rosslyn to Ballston, down Glebe Road and along the eastern end of Columbia Pike. It’s part of a larger, $20 million project to upgrade the county’s communication and traffic management systems.

The fiber line will connect 54 county traffic signals and will allow for the installation of additional traffic monitoring cameras and motorist information signs.

“Arlington’s dense urban corridors require a modern system that offers greater efficiency and flexibility for monitoring traffic, operating signals, and providing real time driver information,” said William O’Connor, Director of Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services. “Expanding and enhancing the system will help ensure that the Arlington streets operate as seamlessly and safely as possible both day-to-day and during emergency situations.”

The fiber line will replace an aging copper line as well as lines leased from Comcast.

“Built in the early 1980s, the County’s current communications network lacks the speed and capacity to meet present and future demands, and is nearing the end of its useful life,” the county noted in a press release. “It consists of outdated and increasingly unreliable twisted pair (copper) cables and a leased private network.”

Chesapeake Electrical Systems has been chosen as the contractor on both projects, which are expected to take six to eight months to complete. The work is being paid for with a combination of federal and local funds.

Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief

New Fiber Optic Line Could Help Traffic Flow

By ARLnow.com

Getting from place to place by car or bus may be getting a bit easier in Arlington.

This weekend the county board is expected to approve a $4 million contract that will install six miles of fiber optic line along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, Columbia Pike and Glebe Road. It’s the first phase of a long-term traffic management project that planners hope will allow more intelligent, real-time management of traffic flow in the county.

In addition to connecting 54 county traffic signals, the fiber line will add capacity for traffic management tools like traffic cameras, motorist information signs, and traffic counters.

The initial phase of the project includes four new traffic monitoring cameras, at the intersections of Washington Boulevard and Wilson Boulevard, Columbia Pike and Walter Reed Drive, Columbia Pike and Glebe Road, and at Glebe Road and Arlington Boulevard (Route 50). An additional 17 cameras throughout the county could be installed by the end of the year, according to Traffic Engineering and Operations Bureau Chief Wayne Wentz. The new cameras would supplement the Arlington’s existing 29 traffic cams.

The first phase of the project also includes a new motorist information sign — commonly used to relay real-time traffic information or advisories — on Route 50 at Pershing Drive. Additional signs are planned as more fiber is installed.

Through enhanced monitoring and improved communication, the fiber lines will eventually lead to a smarter traffic management system that is able to automatically change traffic signal timings to deal with unexpected changes in traffic patterns.

“Our long-term plan for our intelligent transportation system is to measure traffic in real time and adjust traffic signal timing patterns on a daily or hourly basis,” Wentz said. “It will let us do more things to deal with congestion.”

Currently, traffic signal timings are adjusted systematically every three years. Individual re-timings are conducted more frequently in response to specific complaints, Wentz added, and systems are in place to deal with specific high-traffic events like the Fourth of July or an evacuation of D.C.

In addition to traffic management applications, the fiber lines will also be used as a common network backbone for county facilities, from schools to libraries to bus depots. The traffic monitoring systems will also be of use to public safety agencies, who will be able to “monitor special events and reduce response time to incidents,” according to a staff report.

When the multi-phase project is completed, fiber optics will have replaced 52 miles of “outdated and unreliable” copper lines from the 80s, at a cost of about $20 million. Most of the project is expected to be complete by the end of 2014, Wentz said.

Flickr pool photo by pderby

Lee Highway to Get Emergency Vehicle Preemption System

By ARLnow.com

The county board is expected to award a contract on Saturday that would install an emergency vehicle preemption (EVP) system down the entire length of Lee Highway, from Rosslyn to Falls Church.

The system would improve the response times of emergency responders by preemptively turning traffic lights red for conflicting traffic in the path of an emergency vehicle.

The $563,902 contract, which includes an $87,384 cost overage contingency, would install the EVP system at 31 traffic signals on Lee Highway. The federal government is providing most of the funding for the project, with Arlington County chipping in about $130,000.

In addition to improving response times for the three fire stations on Lee Highway, the new EVP system would “also provide the infrastructure for a Transit Signal Priority system in the future,” according to the staff report.

EVP systems are currently in place on parts of Glebe Road and Columbia Pike, according to county spokesperson Mary Curtius.

Power Outage in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 10:25 a.m.) Nearly 300 Dominion customers are without power in Crystal City and Pentagon City this morning.

The outage is due to scheduled work to replace an underground cable along Crystal Drive, according Dominion spokesperson Le-Ha Anderson. Power should be restored by 4:00 this afternoon, she said.

In addition to buildings, the power outage is also affecting traffic lights in the area. We’re hearing that the traffic lights are dark at the intersections of 15th Street South underneath Jefferson Davis Highway and 15th Street South and Hayes Street (since restored).

Blown Transformer Causes Traffic Problems in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

Update at 11:05 a.m. — We’re hearing that some traffic lights are coming back online in the area.

Update at 11:30 a.m. — Road closures are being lifted. Dominion spokesperson Le-Ha Anderson says power has been restored to most customers in Rosslyn.

“While we investigate the root cause of the outage, we are rerouting electricity to restore as many customers as possible,” Anderson said. “As of 11:01, we were able to get the lights back on for all but 123 customers.”

Update at 2:00 p.m. — Dominion estimates that service won’t be fully restored until midnight tonight, after underground repairs are completed. Buildings in the 1500 blocks of Clarendon and Wilson Boulevard are still without power, we’re told.

A blown underground transformer in the area of 1515 Clarendon Boulevard has caused traffic lights to go dark and about 1,000 Dominion customers to lose power in the Rosslyn area.

Traffic lights are reportedly out across most of North Lynn Street, and police are now directing traffic in the area. Officers have requested generators for the lights, saying it “could be hours” until power is restored.

A traffic light outage has also been reported at Wilson Boulevard and North Pierce Street, near the fire station, as well as other intersections between Rosslyn and Courthouse.

Police are in the process of shutting down Fort Myer Drive at Lee Highway, as well as most of Nash Street. Traffic coming across the Key Bridge into Arlington will have to head west on Lee Highway, get off at North Scott Street, and backtrack down Wilson Boulevard to get to Rosslyn.

There’s no reliable word yet on when power might be restored.

Isolated Flooding, Traffic Light Problems Reported

By ARLnow.com

Reports of isolated pockets of high water and traffic light problems have been trickling in over the past hour as rain continues to fall.

According to scanner traffic, the ramp from westbound Route 50 to westbound Washington Boulevard has been shut down by police due to high water. Likewise, police are checking out a call for high water in the area of North Glebe Road and Chesterbrook Road.

Heavy rain invariably tends to cause problems with traffic lights in the county.

Earlier, it was reported that the lights at the tricky intersection of South Hayes Street and 15th Street were flashing.

Now, police are heading to the equally tricky intersection of Fort Myer Drive and North Lynn Street to direct traffic. Traffic lights are reported to be completely dark in the area. (We’ve moved updates on the power outage in Rosslyn to a separate post.)

Update at 11:25 a.m. — There’s a large pool of standing water on the HOV lanes of I-395 approaching the 14th Street Bridge. Traffic cameras show that it’s in the same spot as the pool of water left by a spring storm, shown in one of the photos below.

The water caused a car to stall out in the left-hand lane. Police are now on the scene

Traffic Lights Out Near Ballston Metro

By ARLnow.com

The traffic lights at the intersection of Fairfax Drive and North Stafford Drive are dark due to a small power outage in the area.

About 100 Dominion customers are affected by the outage. The company expects to get the power back on by 4:00 this afternoon.

Police are placing portable stop signs on the road to remind drivers to treat the intersection as a four-way stop.

Earlier this morning, fire fighters responded to the adjacent Central United Methodist Church for a report of smoke in the boiler room, likely a result of the power outage.

Power Outage in North Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Nearly 3,500 Dominion customers in North Arlington are without power this afternoon. The outage was possibly caused by a branch that hit a power line and caused a transformer to catch fire.

Police report that traffic lights on Glebe Road are out from I-66 near Ballston to Lee Highway. The outage at the busy Lee Highway and North Glebe Road intersection has the potential for a significant traffic impact.

Initial reports suggest other traffic lights may also be out on Lee Highway.

Several tripped alarms and stuck elevators have been reported in the area, likely a result of the outage.

Update at 1:40 p.m. — Power has been restored to most Dominion customers.

Traffic Lights Out at Wilson and Washington Boulevards

By ARLnow.com

Police are reporting that traffic lights are on flash at the intersection of Wilson and Washington Boulevards in Clarendon.

The county’s Department of Public Works is responding to the scene.

Update at 2:10 p.m. — It’s been at least 45 minutes since the original call went out. The lights are still flashing.

Update at 2:40 p.m. — Thanks to @goremy, we’re hearing that the lights are working again.

Malfunctioning Traffic Light Causes Backups Near Fort Myer

By ARLnow.com

The traffic light at South Courthouse Road and 2nd Street is malfunctioning, causing backups near Fort Myer.

The light is only staying green for a few seconds for motorists traveling north or south on Courthouse Road. Police have checked out the intersection and requested that Arlington’s traffic engineering department reset the light.

The intersection was flooded by a water main break one month ago.