Confusing Intersection to Get New Marking

A Courthouse intersection where head-on collisions are sometimes narrowly avoided is getting a new marking to help guide drivers.

ARLnow.com contacted the Department of Environmental Services regarding the section of N. Veitch Street between Clarendon Blvd and Wilson Blvd.

The street does not have a yellow divider line and on numerous occasions, it has created confusion over which lanes belong to southbound drivers and which belong to northbound drivers. Some drivers even believe it may be a one way street.

According to DES spokeswoman Jennifer Heilman, the lane that is closest to the bike lane and bordered by the solid white line is for southbound drivers heading straight. The one directly next to it is for northbound vehicles turning west onto Wilson, and the final lane is for northbound traffic traveling straight.

Now that the county is aware of the confusion, we’re told a white arrow will be painted on the street in the lone southbound lane to reinforce the direction of travel. The intersection will remain without a yellow line because that could actually cause even more confusion for drivers based on where it would be placed, Heilman said.

“The reason there is no yellow line is because first of all, it technically would not be in the middle of the intersection,” said Heilman. “If you put in a yellow line, drivers would be crossing over the line into the middle of the turn lane.”

Heilman admitted that this is indeed a tricky area for drivers to navigate.

“It’s a very oddly shaped intersection, is what it comes down to,”  she said.

Because the need for the new painted arrow was just discovered today, a formal request still has to be made and there is no set time for when drivers should expect to see it added.

Photo via Google Maps