Construction on a new art space next to Jennie Dean Park is entering its final stages as the county plans for a public debut next year.
Work on the recreation area at 2700 S. Nelson Street — between the Arlington Food Assistance Center warehouse and the Cultural Affairs building in Green Valley — is expected to wrap up next month, county spokesperson Alyson Jordan Tomaszewski told ARLnow.
A North Arlington community center may close as soon as next spring for a multimillion-dollar maintenance project.
That’s when the Madison Community Center will begin undergoing $6.7 million in renovations, bringing a new roof, climate control system, windows, better lighting and other improvements to the lower-level fitness center and adjacent restrooms, according to a county webpage.
Arlington’s former solid waste contractor is lobbying the County Board to consider bringing them back on board following a bumpy start to a new trash service.
American Disposal Services, which collected trash and recycling in Arlington for 10 years, sent the County Board a letter last week referencing problems with missed collections after Bates Trucking and Trash Removal took over service on Aug. 1.
Issues with Arlington County’s new solid waste contractor have continued throughout this month, with customers still reporting about 100 missed collections every day.
While the new contractor, Bates Trucking and Trash Removal, has extended collection hours and weekend service since beginning work on Aug. 1, the county has initiated “financial penalties” and lent some trash trucks to assist with collection. The Department of Environmental Services (DES) has four trash trucks it uses to assist with street litter cans, special events and other activities.
Ten new food disposal bins have been installed around Arlington, further expanding composting options for people in apartments and condos.
The new bins were installed last week in Pentagon City and Colonial Village, on Columbia Pike and at the Court House and Clarendon Metro stations. They bring county’s total number of collection machines up to 24.
Complaints of incomplete and missed trash collections have hounded Arlington’s new solid waste contractor in its first few days of service.
Bates Trucking and Trash Removal, which replaces longtime county contractor American Disposal Services, began collecting trash, recycling and organics from Arlington single-family homes this month.
The Arlington County Police Department is asking for the public’s help in investigating dozens of traffic signs vandalized with anti-fascist graffiti.
The wave of vandalism incidents, many of which involve the word “fascism” written under the word “stop,” has been going on for months — at a significant cost to taxpayers, according to local officials.
A fleet of robots has begun wandering the sidewalks between Ballston and Rosslyn, searching for any defects to report back to the county’s Department of Environmental Services.
The bots, which went live at the start of this month, use a combination of laser scanners, mobile mapping, AI and machine learning to look for defects like cracks, weeds or gaps of at least half an inch.
Arlington drivers may be experiencing some bumpier-than-usual commutes as the county continues to fix potholes formed during a cold and snowy winter.
Between Nov. 1 and March 1, the county’s Water, Sewer and Streets team recorded 499 potholes — the highest number since the winter of 2022, county spokesperson Kiara Candelaria Nieves told ARLnow.
Repairs are coming to a decades-old water main tunnel under I-66 near Virginia Square, bringing parking restrictions and closing some basketball courts.
The Hayes Park basketball courts will be closed for about three months and parking will be restricted on 15th Street N. and part of N. Lincoln Street starting the week of March 10.
Snow is continuing to fall in Arlington, as most roads remain at least partially snow-covered.
The snowy conditions — some 5-7 inches are expected to fall by the time the storm wraps up Wednesday morning — have caused major issues on the roads.
Fluctuating temperatures in recent weeks have led to a spate of water main breaks in Arlington.
Between Jan. 1 and Jan. 15 alone, the county saw 33 breaks, county spokesperson Katie O’Brien told ARLnow. The county’s water main break map shows issues scattered across numerous neighborhoods, some affecting well over 100 people.
