Archive for the ‘Traffic’ Category

Traffic is remarkably heavy on westbound I-66 this afternoon. Traffic is currently backed up from before Glebe Road past Westmoreland Street.

One emergency responder who was trying to get by the traffic called it “a faster version of a parking lot.”

Elsewhere along I-66, an accident on the ramp from I-66 to Route 110 between a dump truck and a passenger vehicle is reported to be causing some slowdowns. Firefighters have just been dispatched to the scene to help clean up fluid spilled as a result of the accident.

The way AAA Mid-Atlantic tells it, the Tuesday after Labor Day is one of the year’s most “mind-numbing, soul-robbing” days traffic-wise.

The automobile association says that DC-area drivers should “brace themselves” for the one-two punch of kids going back to school and workers returning from summer vacations today. After a two-month respite from the worst of the area’s traffic, things should be back to gridlock-as-usual — a “dreadful day of reckoning” known as “Terrible Traffic Tuesday.”

AAA notes that about 1.5 million local commuters drive to work solo on any given workday. The group says that despite the increasing number of people working from home, Metro’s recent troubles and the new peak-of-the-peak fare may be putting more cars on the road.

“With the recent fare increases and number of breakdowns, more and more people could be shying away from some of the area’s mass transit alternatives,” said AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson John Townsend.

There are some big delays on westbound I-66 after an accident near Glebe Road. Paramedics are currently trying to make their way through heavy traffic to the scene of the accident.

At 9:50 a.m., police on the scene said they were temporarily shutting down the highway while they move the accident to the side of the road.

Traffic had slowed to a crawl before the wreck, but is starting to clear out.

A motorcyclist somehow lost control of his bike and skidded across westbound I-66 in the Rosslyn tunnel this afternoon.

The accident happened around 3:30 p.m. Initial reports suggest the biker’s injuries are minor.

The right-hand lane of I-66 is temporarily blocked.

WAMU’s David Schultz reports that Arlington officials are worried that the Base Realignment and Closure Act, which is costing Arlington thousands of military jobs, may also cause “crippling traffic jams.”

Arlington BRAC coordinator Andrea Morris tells WAMU that she expects that many workers who have been relocated to Alexandria will have to make trips back and forth from the Pentagon. Those trips will increase traffic on I-395 and, as I-395 becomes backed up, overflow traffic may spill onto Arlington’s residential streets, Morris suggests.

It seems that one solution to the problem — if it is, in fact, a problem — could be to increase capacity on I-395. What do you think?

Update on 8/20 — The water main repair work has been completed, but crews are now working on a gas main leak in the same area. One lane is blocked in each direction.

Expect a slowdown on South Glebe Road between Columbia Pike and the Route 50 tonight, as crews work to repair a water main.

The work will begin around 8:00 near 8th Street South, the county says. One lane of South Glebe Road will be blocked in each direction.

The work is expected to wrap up tomorrow morning.

The drive around Arlington wasn’t terrible during this morning’s deluge — nothing like the dozen drivers who had to be rescued due to rising water in the District.

There were patches of bad traffic, though.

The ART 41 route was delayed due to slow traffic on Glebe Road.

Currently, as the rain has returned for a brief reprise, I-66 westbound is very slow through Arlington. At 10:00 the Key Bridge remains backed up, along with traffic in Rosslyn.

And in sad news for hungry office workers, the District Taco cart is sitting today out because of the rain.

How was your commute this morning?

Drivers and cyclists in the Courthouse/Clarendon area should expect a bumpy ride on Wilson Boulevard over the next couple of days. Wilson has been milled between North Barton Street and North Fillmore Street ahead of a scheduled repaving.

The repaving is expected to begin on Thursday, depending on weather conditions and logistical issues.

Later this week, another stretch of Wilson Boulevard — from North Highland Street to Washington Boulevard, near the Clarendon Metro Station — is scheduled to be milled, with repaving to follow. Next week the same work will take place on Washington Boulevard from Pershing Drive to North Highland Street, according to Department of Environmental Services spokesperson Karen Acar.

Drivers should expect parking restriction in the area during the construction.

Between on-going utility relocation work and construction on several large-scale developments, Columbia Pike has lately been riddled with construction bottlenecks and rough sections of road.

That’s to be expected. But one area of the Pike is particularly hazardous for drivers at the moment.

The asphalt on two patched-up sections of road between South Barton Street and South Wayne Street has begun to sink, causing a violent jolt for motorists traveling at speed. Some drivers who spot the big bumps early suddenly hit the brakes, presenting the risk of a rear-end collision.

The ruts — one in the far eastbound lane and one in the far westbound lane — are located across from the under-construction Adams Square development.

We’ve posted video of one of the ruts after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.