But while traffic last Tuesday was actually fairly manageable, traffic today on this Tuesday seems a bit more terrible, at least on one local highway.
Traffic is heavy — moving slowly but steadily — for most of the stretch of northbound I-95/I-395 all the way from Newington to the 14th Street Bridge, according to traffic cameras.
Students Head Back to School — Today is the first day of school for nearly 23,000 Arlington Public School students. School start times vary in Arlington, from 7:50 a.m. for middle schools to 9:24 a.m. for the H-B Woodlawn Secondary program. Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy has created a back-to-school video for students and parents. Arlington County, meanwhile, is urging drivers to be especially cautious on the roads this morning.
AAA Warns of ‘Terrible Traffic Tuesday’ — AAA Mid-Atlantic is warning of “the mother of all gridlock” today, a day the organization has dubbed “Terrible Traffic Tuesday.” With students heading back to school and workers back from summer vacations, AAA expects traffic congestion to spike 26 percent compared to mid-summer. Adding to the congestion in Arlington will be the 146 yellow APS school buses on the roads. [AAA Mid-Atlantic, Bethesda Now]
Despite quickly rising gas prices — jumping at least 40 cents in the past two months — AAA says this will be the busiest Labor Day weekend in terms of travel since 2008 and the start of the recession. It’s the third summer holiday travel period this year projected to set a post-recession record.
Some 799,900 Washington area residents are expected to travel more than 50 miles for Labor Day, up 3.5 percent from 2011. Of those travelers, 86.8 percent are expected to travel by car, 7.9 percent by air, and 5.3 percent by other means.
The accident was reported between 7:00 and 7:30, and was said to be blocking several lanes. The lane closures have since been cleared, but as a result of residual delays traffic is crawling all the way back to Alexandria on I-395.
Other main routes that feed onto I-395 also seem to be affected. Eastbound traffic on Route 50, Washington Boulevard and Columbia Pike is very heavy, and delays have also been reported on the GW Parkway near Reagan National Airport.
The car chase started in Tysons Corner, when Fairfax County began pursuing a vehicle after a reported grand larceny, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. The chase took pursuing officers onto the George Washington Parkway, into the District and into Arlington National Cemetery, before ending in the wreck on Memorial Circle, according to television news reports.
A large contingent of Arlington fire trucks and medic units were dispatched to the scene of the crash, to treat six people injured in the SUV. A photo posted to Twitter depicts the SUV with severe front-end damage on a grassy area just off the circle.
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation has launched a study, called the Super NoVA Transit/Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Vision Plan, examining transit in Northern Virginia. It evaluates issues such as commuting patterns and projected travel demand for what is considered one of the most congested areas in the entire state.
The study will look at possible enhancements for transit and provide a vision for improving mobility throughout the region without increasing the number of vehicles occupied by only one person. When completed in the fall, the study will lay out short-term strategies along with long-term solutions through 2040.
Update at 7:30 p.m. on 2/9/12 — The victim, paramedic Joshua Weissman, has succumbed to his injuries.
(Updated at 12:30 p.m.) An Alexandria paramedic fell about 30 feet from I-395 into Four Mile Run while responding to a call near Shirlington tonight.
In July, we reported about resident concerns over an additional 1,200 workers flooding the Barcroft neighborhood due to the Base Realignment and Closure Act. People living in the area were concerned about workers parking on the streets and dangerous traffic congestion on George Mason Drive. They appealed to Rep. Jim Moran for help.
Moran asked that the plan for shuttle buses between Arlington Hall and the Pentagon Center be expedited to ease the traffic burden, and shuttles started running on September 6. Now, residents report this action has helped improve traffic conditions and safety over the past few months.
Mark Center Parking Capped — A roughly 2,000 spot parking cap is being put in place at the Mark Center in Alexandria, thanks to language placed in a federal appropriations bill. The cap should avert a feared traffic congestion nightmare around the Mark Center, located at the Seminary Road exit off of I-395. Thousands of Department of Defense jobs from Arlington and elsewhere are being transferred to the Mark Center, but transportation infrastructure improvement projects around the Center are still underway. [Rep. Jim Moran]
Ballston BID’s New Director — The new Ballston Business Improvement District formally announced last week that it has hired Tina Leone as its first executive director. Leone was previously president and CEO of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce. [Ballston BID]
The northbound (inbound) lanes of the Key Bridge are closed due to a “police situation.”
Initial reports suggest a person may have jumped off the bridge, possibly on the D.C. side. Traffic cameras show Arlington police redirecting traffic heading toward the bridge on N. Lynn Street onto northbound Lee Highway and the George Washington Parkway.
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.
