If you were thinking of making a quick break for home or vacation on westbound I-66 today, think again. An accident on westbound I-66 before the Spout Run Parkway exit is backing up traffic leaving the District.
One lane is currently getting by past the accident scene.
One emergency responder who was trying to get by the traffic called it “a faster version of a parking lot.”
Elsewhere along I-66, an accident on the ramp from I-66 to Route 110 between a dump truck and a passenger vehicle is reported to be causing some slowdowns. Firefighters have just been dispatched to the scene to help clean up fluid spilled as a result of the accident.
Last week’s nightly closures of the Custis Trail under I-66 have been extended through Wednesday. Construction is still taking place on a framework, intended to protect bicyclists from work related to the I-66 widening project.
The closures will take place between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. Any trail traffic during that time will be detoured. The detoured route will be marked and will take cyclists and joggers farther east to a pedestrian overpass.
At 9:50 a.m., police on the scene said they were temporarily shutting down the highway while they move the accident to the side of the road.
Traffic had slowed to a crawl before the wreck, but is starting to clear out.
The accident happened around 3:30 p.m. Initial reports suggest the biker’s injuries are minor.
The right-hand lane of I-66 is temporarily blocked.
The Ballston Beaver Pond, as it’s called, was initially designed to collect stormwater runoff from I-66. But that started to change in the 1990s when beavers moved in and dammed up the drainage system, creating a pond and wetlands to form. The Beaver Pond is now a habitat frequented by muskrat, geese, ducks, heron, egrets, redwing blackbirds, fish, turtles and the occasional beaver.
The Beaver Pond is located next to a bike trail that connects Ballston and the Custis Trail, just north of the ramp from Fairfax Drive to I-66.
The drive around Arlington wasn’t terrible during this morning’s deluge — nothing like the dozen drivers who had to be rescued due to rising water in the District.
There were patches of bad traffic, though.
The Roosevelt Bridge was blocked in both directions last night as D.C. police and Arlington firefighters investigated a suspicious package on the Virginia side of the span.
Authorities shut down the heavily-traveled thoroughfare around 7:30. The all-clear was given around 8:15.
It’s not clear what’s going on, but the eastbound lanes of I-66 are completely blocked at Lynn Street, just before the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge. Traffic is backing up at the Rosslyn tunnel.
Update at 4:00 p.m. — The disruption has been cleared, WTOP reports.
A possible fire has been reported on the Orange Line Metrorail tracks that run parallel to I-66, near the North Harrison Street overpass.
Sunset Parade Draws Big Crowd — A good-sized crowd was on hand at the Iwo Jima Memorial last night (see photo above) for the Marine Corps’ first Sunset Parade of the summer.
I-66 Widening Begins Next Week — Dr. Gridlock reports that construction is expected to begin on I-66 next week. VDOT will be widening I-66 between Fairfax Drive and Sycamore Street in Arlington County. Expect an almost nightly lane closure through July, which could tie up traffic at times from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. The project is expected to take 18 months.
The widening of Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway is moving forward.
Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell this week hailed a $10.2 million contract that was awarded to a construction firm for spot improvements on the four-lane highway inside the Beltway.
