Update at 12:10 a.m. — The roadway is back open, according to an Arlington Alert message.
Extensive utility work is underway near Chain Bridge, closing a busy commuter route.
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utility work
Despite leaders’ hopes for a brighter future on Columbia Pike, both new and established businesses continue to face difficulties as roadwork drags on.
At this month’s “State of the Pike” forum, speakers highlighted a “light at the end of the tunnel” for establishments that have endured years of nearby utility work and road and sidewalk reconstruction.
Columbia Pike is blocked due to a snapped utility pole and downed wires.
The incident happened along the ongoing construction zone near S. George Mason Drive, which has also seen previous emergency closures due to crews puncturing gas lines. Video posted today on social media by local public safety watcher Dave Statter shows a truck striking low-hanging wires and breaking the pole in half.
A few weeks ago, seven-year-old Desmond Kelly was walking to school when he stepped on a utility cover and it collapsed.
“I didn’t know what to do so I put my arms out,” he said. “I was pretty shocked and amazed that I was able to catch myself before my feet hit the bottom.”
The lonely utility pole protruding into a Columbia Pike intersection has not come down yet, the county confirms, despite assurances it was going to by the end of last year.
In September, ARLnow learned that an errant utility pole sitting a few feet from the sidewalk at the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Frederick Street was scheduled to be removed. But that has yet to happen, due to at least one utility company not completing work to bury wires as part of the Columbia Pike multimodal project.
All lanes of Columbia Pike are blocked due to a large gas leak.
The leak is along the Pike near S. Scott Street and a number of large apartment buildings. Police, firefighters and Washington Gas crews are on scene, repairing the leak and checking nearby buildings for elevated levels of natural gas.
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Blue Line Reopens — “On Friday, October 15, normal service will resume on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines. Intermittent delays are possible as the investigation into Tuesday’s derailment continues.” [WMATA, Twitter]
New County Website Launching Soon — “Arlington County Government is launching a new website, the first major refreshment of the County’s online presence in more than seven years. The site will launch Monday, Oct. 18. Users will continue to access the site by visiting www.arlingtonva.us.” [Arlington County]
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(Updated at 9:50 a.m.) All lanes of N. Glebe Road were closed at 24th Road N., between Langston Blvd and Marymount University, due to a reported crash this morning.
Arlington Alert reported the crash and closure shortly after 7 a.m. Since then, the northbound lanes have reopened while the southbound lanes remain closed.
A lonely utility pole protruding into the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Frederick Street is expected to come down by the end of the year, a county official tells ARLnow.
Last fall, a permanent traffic signal was installed at the intersection of S. Frederick Street and Columbia Pike near Arlington Mill. The work was part of the Columbia Pike Multimodal Street Improvements project to make the thoroughfare more friendly to all users.
An already pricey plan to place overhead utility lines underground along Columbia Pike is getting more expensive.
The Arlington County Board voted unanimously at its Tuesday meeting to approve boosting an existing $17.5 million contract for the work to $23 million — a $5.5 million increase — due to some unforeseen circumstances.
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(Updated at 1:50 p.m.) Three out of four lanes of Wilson Blvd in Ballston were blocked by utility work Monday morning.
The work, at the intersection of Wilson and N. Randolph Street, near the mall, was to replace a blown electrical transformer in a utility vault that’s in the middle of the westbound lanes of Wilson. Crews from Dominion Energy were on scene, along with a large, mobile crane.
Utility work on the under-construction Mosaic Park will close a road in Ballston for the next three weeks.
County crews are closing 5th Road N. between N. Quincy and Pollard streets on weekdays from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. The closures kicked off yesterday (Monday) “to accommodate utility work” for the park and are set to wrap up on Friday, Aug. 16, according to an Arlington Alert.