Commuters have wet, leaf-slicked roads to deal with this morning, but largely the drive on the highways isn’t much worse than on any other given weekday.
Traffic on I-66 is moving smoothly. I-395 is backed up, per usual, and is moving slowly approaching the 14th Street Bridge.
Virginia’s transportation chief is gently nudging the federal government for road money while tweaking Arlington’s HOT Lanes lawsuit.
In an interview with WTOP, Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton said that the planned shift of 6,400 Department of Defense jobs to Alexandria’s Mark Center is turning I-395 into a “military corridor.” He quickly added that the state does not have money for any major improvements to the highway, despite dire predictions of heavy congestion as a result of the Mark Center move.
While noting the praise heaped on Arlington for being a model of smart growth, WTOP reporter Adam Tuss says that the county’s resistance to highway transportation projects has opened it up for criticism.
“There are others that scoff at the county, saying its officials take a parochial transportation view and only think about Arlington at the expense of the entire D.C. region,” Tuss reports.
Heavy smoke can be seen on traffic cameras.
Only one lane of traffic is getting by the scene. Firefighters report that everybody that was on the bus made it out safely.
A 19-year-old who was driving without a license allegedly tried to flee after being pulled over by police, according to this week’s Arlington County crime report. The teen eventually crashed into a guardrail on I-395.
ATTEMPT MALICIOUS WOUNDING-ARREST 11/02/10, 1900 block of S. Pollard Street. On November 1, an officer pulled over a vehicle. The driver of the vehicle drove away abruptly and almost struck the officer. The vehicle then crashed into a guardrail. William D. Jones, 19, of Alexandria was charged with Attempt Malicious Wounding, Disregarding a Police Order, Driving While Suspended, and Hit and Run. He was held without bond.
Traffic on southbound I-395 is being diverted onto southbound Route 1, just before the Pentagon, causing big backups. We’re told Pentagon police are investigating some sort of an incident that occurred last night.
Update at 9:20 a.m. — In the comments section, FREDTERP has what is very likely the subject of the investigation: an unconfirmed report of shots fired near the Pentagon early this morning. We’re still awaiting comment from the Pentagon Force Protection Agency.
Heavy rain is making for a slow go this morning. Nearly the entire length of northbound I-395 is slow, and multiple accidents have been reported.
One accident, seen above, is blocking a left-hand lane on southbound I-395. Another accident, now cleared, caused a car to flip over in the westbound lanes of the Roosevelt Bridge, blocking traffic heading toward Virginia from DC.
The accident happened in the southbound HOV lanes of I-395. Police on the scene reported that the man had taken out at least one of the gates used to prevent traffic from going the wrong way on the combined HOV lanes.
The extent of the man’s injuries are unknown. A repair crew from VDOT has been dispatched to repair the gate.
(Updated at 6:00 p.m.) Arlington firefighters are on the scene of a reported bus fire on Washington Boulevard near I-395. Heavy smoke could be seen in the area through traffic cameras.
The bus appears to be on northbound Washington Boulevard, near the ramp from I-395.
Emergency responders from Arlington and DC are on the scene. Only one lane is getting by.
There’s no word on injuries at this time.
It’s October — The good news: playoff baseball returns. The bad news: cold temperatures return.
Abuse Charges at Nursing Home — Nearly a dozen employees of the Potomac Center nursing home in Pentagon City have been indicted on charges including neglect and assault. An investigation by the Virginia State Medicare Fraud Office and the FBI determined that employees neglected patient care, forged documents and abused at least one patient. A $10 million lawsuit has also been filed against Potomac Center’s parent company. More from WUSA9.
At least two other cars are reported to be involved in the accident.
There are no immediate reports of injuries.
