Power Outages Now Below 1,000
Dominion has been making significant progress in restoring power to Arlington homes and businesses.
As of 10:15 this morning, only 997 Dominion customers were without power in Arlington, compared to more than 5,000 around the same time yesterday and more than 18,000 at the height of Superstorm Sandy.
Last night, Arlington officials reported that there were no dark traffic lights in the county. Six intersections were using generators to keep the signals functioning, however. There were about 20 non-functioning traffic signals the morning after the storm.
As of 5:30 last night, about 18 streets were still blocked or partially blocked by down trees, but county crews were working to clear the debris, according to a county media update.
Dominion says crews will be working on power lines and equipment at the following Arlington locations today:
- N. Henderson Rd & N. 3rd St
- S. 7th St & Buchanan
- Arlington Ridge Rd & S. 28th St
- Columbia Pike & S Buchanan St
- N 15th St & N Vermont St
- N Inglewood St & 17th St N
- 1st Rd & N Irving St
- N Quinn St & N 12th St
- N Stuart St & N 25th St
- N Underwood St & N 25th St
- N Nelson St & N 10th St
- S 5th St & S Aberdeen St
- S Chesterfield Rd south of Four Mile Run
- S. Glebe Rd. & S 9th St.
- Williamsburg Blvd & N Edison St
- Wilson Blvd & N Randolph St
Flickr pool photo by Afagen
Power Outage in N. Arlington
Update at 10:20 a.m. — Power has been restored to the traffic signals along Lee Highway, according to scanner traffic.
More than 1,500 Dominion customers are reported to be without power this morning in Arlington.
The outage appears to be centered around the northwest corner of Arlington, near the border with the City of Falls Church. A number of readers have been reporting power outages and dark traffic lights along Lee Highway.
Among the traffic signals without power are those at the intersections of Lee Highway and N. Harrison Street and Lee Higway and N. Sycamore Street. The Overlee pool is closed due to the power outage, according to the pool’s Twitter account.
Dominion trucks are reported to be in the area, working to restore power.
Power Outage Affecting Parts of S. Arlington
(Updated at 3:25 p.m.) At least 150 Dominion customers are reported to be without power in parts of South Arlington this afternoon.
Some traffic signals are dark along the eastern end of Columbia Pike as a result of the outage. Police have set up cones at the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Joyce street, preventing traffic on both roads from making left turns.
It’s unclear what caused the outage or when exactly power might be restored.
Wednesday Storm Recovery Update
Dominion appears to be making good progress in restoring power to customers still affected by Friday’s storms.
As of 2:30 p.m, there were 3,960 Dominion customers in Arlington without power. That’s down from 15,654 as of 10:00 yesterday (Tuesday) morning. Dominion says it’s a day ahead of its storm restoration target.
“Service for virtually all customers in Northern Virginia and the Richmond metro area who lost electric service because of the storms should be restored by Friday night,” the company said.
“We have more than 5,000 employees, retirees, contractors and utility crews from 18 states and Canada who will continue to work straight through the July 4th holiday and will not stop until we get the lights back on for everyone,” said Rodney Blevins, Dominion vice president of Electric Distribution Operations, in a statement.
Arlington County, meanwhile, said this morning that 17 County roads remain blocked following the storms. Crews are working through today’s holiday to clear road of downed trees and debris. The county said that two trees came down on roads last night, and cautioned residents to be aware of damaged trees and tree limbs, which can still pose a danger.
Four county intersections are without functioning traffic signals, while five traffic signals are on generator power.
Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Qunicy Street) is open until 9:00 tonight for residents who want to seek relief from the heat (or read a book).
Flickr pool photo by alvesfamily
Latest Recovery Statistics from Arlington County
Arlington County says it is making good progress in its continued storm recovery efforts. The county released some updated facts and figures today regarding the storm cleanup.
- 10 county intersections are still without functioning traffic signals, down from 96 immediately after the storm.
- 18 county streets are currently blocked by fallen trees and debris, down from a peak of 45 after the storm.
- County crews have collected more than 395 tons of storm-related debris.
- Tree limbs and other plant debris is being turned into mulch.
- Nine county crews are out collecting brush today.
- Power and air conditioning has been restored the Culpepper Garden senior living center. Dominion had been asked to prioritize power restoration to the facility.
- 911 is now accessible by cell phone, but landline callers are being asked to call the non-emergency number at 703-558-2222.
- While those who can’t reach emergency dispatchers via phone are being asked to report the emergency at the nearest fire station, only one such incident has been reported. One person went to a fire station to report a grease fire at the Harris Teeter grocery store on Glebe Road.
- Regular trash and recycling pickup was completed yesterday, except where streets were blocked due to downed power lines.
- “Hundreds” of trees are down in parks, along with other plant debris. Park-goers are asked to “please use caution in County parks, outdoor facilities and trails.”
- Long Branch Nature Center is expected to “remain closed for several more days.”
Flickr pool photo by Divaknevil
Lights Blinking at Intersection After Fire in Walk Signal
The traffic lights at the intersection of westbound Lee Highway and Lynn Street, in Rosslyn, are blinking due to an earlier fire.
A pedestrian walk signal at the intersection somehow caught on fire around 11:30 this morning. The fire was minor and eventually burned itself out, but not before passersby caught sight of smoke coming from the signal. As a result of the fire, power was temporarily cut to all traffic signals at the intersection.
As of 12:10 p.m., the lights were operating on battery power and blinking red. Police were on scene assisting with traffic control.
Video: Preparing for Emergencies in Arlington
Arlington County has been working on various ways to help residents prepare for an emergency, to get information during an emergency, and to evacuate in the event of a major emergency.
In the video above, county officials discuss several initiatives, including the Arlington Prepares smartphone app, Arlington Alert emails and text messages, and permanent electronic message signs that will eventually be installed along Route 50 and other major local roads.
Also discussed: the county’s state-of-the-art traffic management center, which can adjust the timing of Arlington 282 traffic signals in the event of a weather emergency or an evacuation.
New Traffic Lights Near Development on Glebe Road
Two new traffic lights have been installed on N. Glebe Road, where new development is causing concerns about pedestrian safety.
One light went in this week on southbound Glebe Road at N. 9th Street, and another on the northbound side at N. Vermont Street. According to the Department of Environmental Services, it was part of a site plan development with the new construction on the west side of Glebe Road.
New buildings in the area, including the recently opened residences at The Jordan and the Virginia Tech Research Center building, which houses commercial tenants such as The Greene Turtle, have brought additional pedestrian traffic. It’s expected to increase even more once the office building at 800 N. Glebe is completed.
DES spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel says that’s why it was necessary to put in traffic lights, to establish a safe pedestrian connection between the new construction on the west side of Glebe and the businesses and Ballston Metro station on the east side.
Currently, the lights are still covered up. If all goes according to plan, they should be turned on by the end of the month.
New Wilson Boulevard Traffic Lights Should Turn On Soon
(Updated at 1:50 p.m.) The long-awaited unveiling of the new traffic signals on Wilson Boulevard at N. Pollard Street should be happening soon. In fact, they should be working before the start of the weekend.
The lights were installed a couple of months ago, but have remained covered up. Concerned about pedestrian safety, some residents have been emailing ARLnow.com to ask when the lights would begin functioning. One reader compared crossing the intersection to maneuvering through a video game.
“Too many people play ‘Frogger’ at night trying to go to and from the Gold’s Gym,” the reader wrote.
Arlington Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel said the county’s installation of the lights has been completed, and Dominion Virginia Power just needs to supply electricity. Dominion tells us the lights should be turned on either today or tomorrow, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Today a crew was at the intersection repairing the sidewalk that had been torn up to install the lights.
Accident Knocks Out Traffic Lights at Clarendon Intersection
The traffic light sat the busy Clarendon intersection of Washington Boulevard, 10th Street and Fillmore Street is expected to remain dark throughout the morning rush hour following a car accident Thursday night.
Around 7:15 last night a car hopped the curb and took out the traffic signal control box near the Virginia ABC store. One minor injury was reported.
Arlington County crews have been working throughout the night to replace the traffic signal hardware, but the lights are not expected to come back on until after the morning rush hour. Police have set up cones in the intersection in order to keep traffic flowing in an orderly manner.
Traffic Signal Installation on Wilson Blvd in Bluemont
A new set of traffic lights and pedestrian crossing signals are being installed at the intersection of Wilson Boulevard and N. Wakefield Street.
The traffic signals are located next to the Murphy Funeral Home and a new residential development, in the Bluemont neighborhood near Ballston. A developer agreed to pay for the traffic signals in 2008 as part of the development’s site plan process. At the time, county staff argued that increased traffic from the development would necessitate the installation of traffic signals.
No word yet on when the traffic lights might be switched on.
Traffic Signals Installed at Wilson Blvd Intersection
New traffic signals were being installed today at the busy intersection of Wilson Boulevard and N. Pollard Street in Ballston, near the Gold’s Gym and the Wiinky’s burger restaurant.
The installation comes about three months after the Sun Gazette reported, in an article entitled “Residents Find Developer Payments Don’t Translate Into Traffic-Signal Installation,” that a developer had agreed to contribute $150,000 toward the addition of traffic signals at the intersection back in 2004. At the time of the article, the County Manager Barbara Donnellan promised to investigate why the traffic signal had not yet been installed.
Though the signals were installed today, we’re told it may be a “couple of weeks” until they’re switched on.
Traffic Light Out at Busy Clarendon Intersection
The traffic signal at the busy intersection of Washington Boulevard and N. Highland Street in Clarendon has gone dark due to an isolated power outage.
We’re hearing that the light is expected to remain out of service overnight.
Police have reportedly set up cones in the intersection’s turn lanes in order to allow traffic to move more smoothly. As a reminder, any non-functioning traffic signal should be treated as a four-way stop.
Photo via Google Maps
Temporary Traffic Signal Installed on Columbia Pike
A set of temporary traffic signals has been installed at the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Arlington Mill Drive.
The intersection, which sits between two existing sets of traffic lights at Four Mile Run Drive and at S. Dinwiddie Street, is adjacent to the under-construction Arlington Mill Community Center and a future 122-unit affordable housing complex.
On its web site, Arlington County says the new traffic signals — which haven’t been switched on yet — are necessary because of construction. Don’t expect the lights to stay on for long, though. Arlington Mill Drive is expected to be closed during the latter stages of the community center’s construction.
“Once the traffic signal is activated, the 9th Street connection on the north side of the [Arlington Mill construction] site will be closed to upgrade water and stormwater infrastructure and install curb and gutter,” the county said. “Access to Columbia Pike will be maintained for Park Glen residents via S. Arlington Mill Drive. At this time, additional stormwater drainage facilities will also be installed just west of the site along S. Dinwiddie Street.”
“When 9th Street is reopened in two to three months, S. Arlington Mill Drive will be closed to all traffic – except for construction vehicles – for the duration of the project,” the county added. “All Park Glen traffic will be directed to Columbia Pike through the new 9th Street connector and S. Dinwiddie Street.”
Changes Along Washington Blvd in Clarendon
Clarendon residents have taken note of two big, recent changes along Washington Boulevard.
About a week ago, a set of new traffic signals at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and N. Garfield Street were switched on. The traffic lights are helping to bring some order to what was previously a somewhat tricky intersection for Garfield Street traffic.
One block away, meanwhile, the Garfield Park at Clarendon Village luxury apartment complex has rapidly taken shape. A wooden outline of the 5-6 story, 149-unit building has sprung up where, just two months ago, there was nothing but a one-story foundation.
