A tractor trailer became stuck on Chain Bridge this afternoon after attempting an ill-advised U-turn.
The driver of the truck apparently tried to make a U-turn at Chain Bridge and Canal Road NW, across the Potomac River from Arlington, but became stuck and in the process pierced the truck’s fuel tank on a rail at the northwest corner of the intersection.
Update at 6:10 p.m. — Glebe Road has reopened, according to scanner traffic.
Update at 4:05 p.m. — Crews are hoping to have Glebe Road clear and reopened by 6:00 p.m., we’re told.
Glebe Road is being shut down in both directions between Chain Bridge Road and Military Road due to a downed tree.
County crews are en route to remove the tree, which is said to be down across the entire road.
(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) Arlington County and the American Foreign Service Association will dedicate a historic marker on the Virginia side of Chain Bridge on Tuesday.
The marker will commemorate the spot where, in 1814, a State Department clerk first hid the Declaration of Independence and some of the young country’s most precious documents ahead of the British attack on Washington, D.C.
September Sunset — As warm temperatures gave way to fall-like temperatures yesterday, mother nature compensated by providing the D.C. area with an exceptionally beautiful sunset.
Gunfire on the GW Parkway — An SUV was struck by a bullet while driving on the GW Parkway near the Chain Bridge early Thursday morning. [NBC Washington]
The text of the marker describes how the nondescript garage at N. Nash Street and Wilson Boulevard helped unravel the political scandal that ultimately resulted in the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
“Mark Felt, second in command at the FBI, met Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward here in this parking garage to discuss the Watergate scandal. Felt provided Woodward information that exposed the Nixon administration’s obstruction of the FBI’s Watergate investigation. He chose the garage as an anonymous secure location. They met at this garage six times between October 1972 and November 1973. The Watergate scandal resulted in President Nixon’s resignation in 1974. Woodward’s managing editor, Howard Simons, gave Felt the code name “Deep Throat.” Woodward’s promise not to reveal his source was kept until Felt announced his role as Deep Throat in 2005.”
The bridge will close on 8:00 p.m. on Friday and will reopen at 5:00 a.m. on Monday, starting this weekend, according to DDOT.
The three weekends when closures are planned are Aug. 19-21, Sept. 9-11 and Sept. 16-18.
Update at 10:30 a.m. –VDOT has issued a correction, saying that the 400 block of Chain Bridge Road, not the bridge itself, will be closed.
Chain Bridge The 400 block of Chain Bridge Road will be closed for part of the day today.
Chain Bridge Road is expected to remain shut down for the next half an hour as firefighters work to rescue a man trapped in a van that knocked over a utility pole.
Initial reports suggest the driver of a delivery van knocked over a utility pole while backing out of a driveway on the 100 block of Chain Bridge Road, just north of Chain Bridge. Live power lines fell on the van, trapping the driver inside.
A man reportedly fell and injured himself on one of the rocky cliffs overlooking the Potomac near Chain Bridge this afternoon. The Park Police Eagle 1 helicopter and an Arlington County technical rescue squad were dispatched to the scene to help rescue the man after it was reported that he was trapped.
Paramedics are now walking the man to safety.
Chain Bridge will be closed from 8:00 tonight to 5:00 Monday morning, Arlington County said today.
“There will be no access to the bridge from either the District of Columbia or Arlington, including access for cyclists and pedestrians,” the county advises.
Three-Year-Old Boy Drowns Near Chain Bridge — The Arlington County Fire Department pulled the lifeless body of a 3-year-old boy from the Potomac River yesterday afternoon. He was pronounced dead at Virginia Hospital Center. The boy had been picnicking with his family near Chain Bridge when he somehow ended up in the water. More from TBD/ABC 7.
Alaska Plane Crash Survivor from Arlington Back in Va. — Friends and family were on hand at Dulles Airport to welcome Arlington resident Jim Morhard back to Virginia. The 54-year-old lobbyist is still recovering from injuries he sustained in the plane crash that killed former Alaska senator Ted Stevens. More from WUSA 9.
