road construction | ARLnow.com

Published October 24, 2014 at 3:30PM

Traffic on Columbia Pike approaching Washington Blvd

The backups that have caused rush hour delays for drivers going eastbound on Columbia Pike in the morning are likely due to the temporary traffic pattern that makes cars turn left to get on northbound I-395, Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jenni McCord said. The temporary traffic pattern shift is expected to be in place for the next six months.

After that time, the traffic will again go back to using a right exit off Columbia Pike to get on the interstate in the direction of D.C.

News

Arlington to Request, Receive Millions for Transportation Projects

By Ethan Rothstein

Published October 15, 2014 at 5:30PM

The Arlington County Board will vote on Saturday to apply to the Virginia Department of Transportation for $4.2 million in funds to help complete seven transportation projects. In addition, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority is ready to reimburse the county for four transportation projects worth a combined $18.8 million.

The Board is expected to request $4.215 million in matching funds from VDOT for the following projects:

Traffic

Interchanges Along Route 50 Now Complete

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 17, 2014 at 1:30PM

All of the ramps, lanes and bridges for the interchanges of Route 50, N. Courthouse Road and 10th Street N. are open and finished.

Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette, Del. Patrick Hope and local and state transportation officials were on hand to cut the ribbon on the $39 million project that has been more than a decade in the making.

Traffic

Protected Bike Lanes Open in Pentagon City

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 19, 2014 at 12:30PM

S. Hayes Street in Pentagon City has new, protected lanes for cyclists, the first of their kind in Arlington County.

Between 15th Street S. and S. Fern Street, bike lanes are now between parking spots and the curb, giving cyclists a buffer, in the form of parked cars, from vehicular traffic on the four-lane road.

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Army Navy Country Club Access Road Moves Forward

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 13, 2014 at 11:15AM

The project was approved by the Arlington County Board in the 2015-2024 Capital Improvement Program. It will include a sidewalk and provide cyclists and pedestrians access from the Columbia Pike area to Pentagon City, according to county Bicycle and Pedestrian Programs Manager David Goodman.

“It was originally envisioned as a trail, but ultimately it has more value as an emergency access drive that also allows pedestrian and bicycle activity,” Goodman told ARLnow.com. “Its purpose is to provide an escape valve for getting emergency vehicles between the two sides of I-395. There really aren’t any other connections there.”

News

Route 50-Courthouse Road Interchange Nearly Complete

By Ethan Rothstein

Published June 16, 2014 at 1:30PM

The interchange of Route 50, N. Courthouse Road and 10th Street Road is on the verge of opening for good.

According to Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer McCord, the westbound Route 50 frontage road that gives drivers access to Courthouse Road and 10th Street is expected to open on Wednesday. The opening means all facets of the intersection — the ramps from Courthouse Road and 10th Street to Route 50 in both directions and the frontage road — will be open for traffic.

News

County to Add Bike Lane, Remove Travel Lanes from S. Eads Street

By Ethan Rothstein

Published May 15, 2014 at 10:45AM | Updated May 15, 2014 at 11:06AM

(Updated at 11:05 a.m.) Arlington will be rolling out a pilot program for S. Eads Street this fall that will give residents an idea of what the future of the Pentagon City/Crystal City corridor will look like for years to come.

The county has decided that the four-lane road, which runs parallel to Jefferson Davis Highway from Army Navy Drive to Four Mile Run, is unnecessarily wide, and should be changed to a three-lane road — the center lane for left turns — with increased pedestrian and bicycle amenities.

News

Arlington Unveils Pentagon City Multimodal Improvements

By ARLnow.com

Published April 28, 2014 at 4:15PM

Photo courtesy Arlington County

Arlington County held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday for its multimodal improvement project in Pentagon City.

The two-year, $9 million project resulted in improved sidewalks, road crossings, bike lanes, street trees, drainage and landscaping along S. Hayes Street in front of Pentagon City mall. The project was completed nearly 6 percent under budget, with the state and federal government paying 80 percent of the final cost, according to the county.

Traffic

Concrete Crosswalks in Ballston Deteriorating

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 18, 2014 at 11:05AM | Updated April 18, 2014 at 1:07PM

The crosswalks, called “pavers,” were installed by the county on VDOT roads like Fairfax Drive, Lee Highway and Columbia Pike. They were built roughly 20 years ago as part of a county project to try to construct a brick-like crosswalk without material as fragile as the clay that bricks are made from.

“When brick sidewalks in old cities were in vogue, the industry developed concrete pavers as a flexible and durable surface for sidewalks that could adapt to tree roots without cracking and looked attractive in many areas,” county Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Jennifer Heilman told ARLnow.com. “However, the heavy volumes of large vehicles such as what is typical of Fairfax Drive and most major arterials where Arlington has such crosswalks installed have made them very difficult to maintain as they’ve aged and become more prone to failure.”

Traffic

Rt. 50/10th Street/Courthouse Road Ramps to Open This Month

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 15, 2014 at 10:55AM

The ramps from 10th Street to eastbound Route 50 and from N. Fairfax Drive to westbound Route 50, along with a new ramp from Courthouse Road to westbound Route 50, are scheduled to open Friday, April 25, according to Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer McCord.

The westbound frontage from Route 50 to 10th Street N. will still have barriers on it but will open a few weeks later, McCord said.

News

County Planning Major Changes for Rosslyn Infrastructure

By Ethan Rothstein

Published March 20, 2014 at 11:45AM

The Rosslyn Sector Plan update — the product of the Realize Rosslyn community planning efforts over the past 15 months — is expected to be adopted by the end of this year, but before that the County Board must hold hearings and approve a framework for the plan. That’s expected to happen next month, after the Board voted to advertise the hearings at its meeting on Tuesday.

Among the biggest changes that could be coming in Rosslyn if the plan is approved is extending 18th Street N. as a pedestrian and bike corridor through Rosslyn’s main stretches — with intersections at Nash Street, Fort Myer Drive, Moore Street and Lynn Street before connecting with N. Arlington Ridge Road — making Fort Myer Drive and Lynn Street two-way roads and removing the tunnels underneath Wilson Blvd.

Traffic

Drivers: New Pike Traffic Pattern is Causing Big Backups

By ARLnow.com

Published February 12, 2014 at 4:55PM

Photo courtesy Thierry Discoll

Morning rush hour traffic on Columbia Pike has gone from bad to worse thanks to a new traffic pattern at the Washington Boulevard interchange, drivers tell us.

Two weeks ago VDOT, as part of its Route 27/244 interchange project, altered the traffic pattern for vehicles heading eastbound on Columbia Pike. Drivers heading toward northbound I-395 now have to turn left at the traffic signal on S. Quinn Street, whereas before northbound and southbound traffic could both take the right-hand ramp that also leads to southbound I-395.