Updated at 4:45 p.m. — Delays remain heavy on the northbound GW Parkway, from the crash scene to just past the Memorial Bridge. Delays also remain southbound, starting around Route 123.
Earlier: A crash on the GW Parkway in Arlington is snarling the start of the evening rush hour.
Incubator Leaving Crystal City — “Startup incubator 1776 plans to open its new D.C. location this year and will ultimately shut down its Crystal City location. 1776 spokesman Lucas McCanna said the company will relocate to ‘the general McPherson Square area,’ but declined to give a specific address.” [Washington Business Journal]
AAA: Worst Times for Independence Day Travel — “Holiday travelers hailing from the area will face absolute gridlock along key freeway segments starting [today], July 3. Topping the list of the worst corridors for those departing Wednesday, July 3, is Interstate 270 northbound.” [Press Release]
The video (below) was jarring: cars driving through muddy flood waters that nearly reached the tops of tires.
Even more jarring: this was happening along busy Columbia Pike, a route not noted for being flood-prone, during the evening rush hour.
(Updated at 4:05 p.m.) Police and firefighters are on scene of a major crash at the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Glebe Road.
The westbound lanes of Columbia Pike and at least one northbound lane of Glebe are blocked by the crash and the emergency activity. Drivers should expect significant evening rush hour traffic impacts in the area.
Update at 5 p.m. — All lanes of the Beltway have reopened, though residual delays remain.
Earlier: A crash has closed most lanes of the Beltway near S. Van Dorn Street in Fairfax County, creating yet another traffic mess in Northern Virginia.
(Updated at 9:45 p.m.) Traffic throughout Arlington has reached apocalyptic levels as the closure of the Beltway’s Inner Loop continues well into the night.
Shortly before 2 p.m., a tanker truck overturned as part of a multi-vehicle crash just prior the American Legion Bridge. The cleanup from the crash and the hazmat response from a fuel spill prompted the complete closure of I-495 northbound before the bridge, sending tens of thousands of drivers bound for Maryland and D.C. into Arlington to try to make it across the remaining Potomac bridges.
Drivers should expect police activity along I-395 and the GW Parkway following a reported multi-vehicle crash and police foot chase.
A suspect ran from the five-vehicle crash along northbound I-395 near the 14th Street Bridge, according to scanner traffic. He was reportedly apprehended by police along the GW Parkway.
After a day of nervous anticipation that saw most schools and government facilities close early today, the snow is now here — and so is the traffic.
Very heavy traffic has been reported on I-395, Washington Blvd and parts of the GW Parkway, as long as in the Rosslyn area, as commuters try to get home early before the streets turn slippery.
It’s one of the busiest travel days of the year and a big crash is making it worse for those heading to or from Reagan National Airport.
The crash involved a vehicle that hopped the guardrail along a bridge that connects the airport and Route 1, coming to rest with its rear wheels in the air and smoke coming from its engine compartment. The access road — known as Route 233 — was blocked for a period of time by the police and fire department response, leaving the GW Parkway as the only way to access the airport.
Christmas Travel Crunch Starts Today — “A record number of people are expected to travel this Christmas season, spurred on by economic comfort and relatively modest gas prices… This year INRIX, a traffic data firm, has forecast the very worst time for drivers to set out on the highways, and for the Washington region, that’s five days before Christmas, on Dec. 20, between 1:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.” [Washington Post]
County Manager Pans ART Service — “‘The ART bus performance, recently, stinks,’ Mark Schwartz said during a meeting with Arlington County Civic Federation delegates… In the second quarter of 2018, on-time performance dropped to 83 percent from 92 percent a year before, according to data provided to the county government’s Transit Advisory Committee. Ridership in that quarter was down 14 percent from a year before.” [InsideNova]
(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) Arlington County police and medics have responded to Clarendon after a promotion for free cheesecake got out of control.
Police were called to the area of the Cheesecake Factory at 2900 Clarendon Blvd earlier today for a report of a large crowd and heavy traffic in the area. Around 1 p.m., another dispatch went out for a fight in progress at the restaurant, though officers did not find an active fight when they arrived.
