The lane was built as part of a 18 month, $14 million VDOT “spot improvement” project. Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) is touting the lane opening as a relief for drivers who face frequent heavy delays on that stretch of highway.
From a press release, issued this afternoon:
Traffic is very slow on the entire length of westbound I-66, from Rosslyn to the Toll Road. The backups are so bad that there are reports that ancillary backups have formed on some main local roads that connect with I-66 on-ramps, like Sycamore Street, Washington Boulevard and Glebe Road. Route 110 is also said to be jammed as a result of the I-66 traffic.
Via Twitter, several I-66 commuters have said that the slow traffic has added 30 or more minutes to their westbound commute.
(Updated at 4:55 p.m.) More than 2,500 Dominion customers are without power in the Crystal City area this afternoon.
Numerous traffic lights are reported to be dark in the area. Police are beginning to direct traffic at certain intersections.
Local authorities are warning of possible rush hour traffic impacts as a result of today’s scheduled Occupy NoVA and Occupy D.C. marches to the Key Bridge.
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) are advising the public about the possibility of traffic delays during the evening rush hour today (17 Nov) due to a planned demonstration and march by Occupy DC in the vicinity of the Key Bridge and McPherson Square.
A three-to-four vehicle accident involving Metrobus occurred at the intersection of Army Navy Drive and S. Hayes Street, in Pentagon City, just after 3:00 this afternoon.
Two injuries were reported, but at least initially there were no injuries reported on the bus.
The plan would make the streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists, while adding only a minute or two of travel time to most trips, advocates say.
Critics say such low speeds would be hard for motorists to maintain, would add to the District’s traffic woes and could actually increase incidents of aggressive driving and road rage.
Two of three northbound lanes are closed on the Key Bridge due to a presidential speech in Georgetown.
The lane closures are causing traffic to back up in Rosslyn, before the bridge.
A ceremony is being held by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation to commemorate the statue unveiling, in front of the airport’s Terminal A.
Drivers should expect heavier-than-usual traffic around the arrivals and departures terminals due to lane closures for the event, airport officials said. Four lanes will merge into one to detour around the event site. There’s also a possibility that traffic will be completely blocked for short periods along the detour route.
The tricky merge from eastbound Columbia Pike to northbound Washington Boulevard has been made even trickier recently due to high grass.
The merge, which lacks an acceleration lane to get up to the speed of fast-moving traffic on Washington Boulevard, has been the scene of numerous fender benders. While it was still hard for drivers to see oncoming traffic when the grass was mowed, cab drivers tell us that it’s now even harder.
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.
Police and firefighters are on the scene of a taxi cab that somehow flipped on its side on the GW Parkway.
The accident reportedly occurred just after the ramp from eastbound Route 50 to the Parkway’s southbound lanes.
Tens of thousands of runners will be hitting the streets for the 27th Annual Army Ten-Miler race.
The race begins at 8 a.m. on Route 110 and ends in the Pentagon South Parking Lot, but some roads will be shut down as early as 5 a.m. They should all be reopened by noon.
