On-going utility work has kept the far left-hand westbound lane closed well past its originally planned July 2010 reopening date. We heard in September that the lane would likely be closed through the end of last year. Alas, construction crews are still working and westbound Route 50 is still reduced to just two lanes.
VDOT spokeswoman Jennifer McCord says the lane will reopen in mid-April “if the weather cooperates.”
Update at 9:35 a.m. — Power has been restored, Dominion spokeswoman Le-Ha Anderson says. The outage was caused by a single, unlucky squirrel.
Earlier: Traffic lights are out at a number of busy Arlington intersections due to a widespread power outage.
Eastbound Route 50 is down to one lane between Carlin Springs Road and Henderson Road due to paving.
The lane closure is expected to be lifted around 4:00 p.m., after the roadwork concludes.
The bridge has raised concerns recently as chunks of concrete began falling anew. On Friday, rush hour traffic was snarled when a chunk of concrete fell from the bridge onto a westbound lane of Route 50 around 4:30 p.m. Police shut down the bridge and one lane of Glebe Road for more than an hour as a result.
The falling concrete actually left a hole in the roadway from which one could look down and see the highway below, according to Arlington County Director of Transportation Dennis Leach. Over the weekend, VDOT patched up the part of the bridge from which the concrete fell.
Update at 7:50 p.m. — All lane closures except one northbound lane on Glebe Road have been lifted.
Both directions of Glebe Road have been shut down and one lane of westbound Route 50 has been blocked due to chunks of concrete falling off the overpass.
(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) For some reason, a number of highway and arterial road on-ramps in Arlington County seem to have been designed with little consideration to driver safety.
Whether they’re positioned just after a bend in the highway, obstructing the view of on-coming vehicles, or whether there’s precious little room for drivers entering the highway to get up to speed with on-coming traffic — or both — we’ve picked the following four on-ramps as the most dangerous in Arlington.
There is a stop sign missing on the on-ramp from Courthouse Road to eastbound Route 50, causing a serious traffic hazard.
Police are currently on scene directing traffic, according to police radio transmissions. Before police arrived, cars were heading straight through the T intersection, where Courthouse Road traffic heading onto Route 50 normally yields to eastbound Route 50 traffic exiting onto the ramp.
It’s a slow go for commuters on Route 50 and Columbia Pike this morning. And it’s an even slower commute for those on I-395.
Nearly the entire length of northbound I-395 is slow, from the Beltway to the 14th Street Bridge. HOV commuters, however, have it relatively easy.
At a meeting of Northern Virginia elected officials and transportation planners yesterday, McDonnell announced that VDOT will advertise some $1.1 billion in new construction and maintenance projects during the first six months of fiscal year 2011.
The spending will create 33,900 jobs and generate $2.83 billion in total economic activity, according to the governor’s office.
Update at 4:15 p.m. — “All lanes are open on Route 50 near the 7 Corners and repairs have been completed,” according to City of Falls Church spokesperson Barbara Gordon. “Water pressure is back to normal for all residents and businesses in the area.”
A 12-inch water main burst under Route 50 this morning, snarling traffic and lowering water pressure in the area.
The complex is being torn down to make way for a new mixed use development, and the demolition work is expected to begin at some point within the next month.
Construction crews will first salvage the shopping center’s limestone facade, for re-use in the new development. Then, the demolition will begin.
A three-vehicle accident has been reported in the lefthand lanes of westbound Route 50 near the exit to Rosslyn-Key Bridge.
The fire department is on the scene and reporting that one of the vehicles is on fire.
