A D.C. taxicab somehow went up a steep embankment, ran into and partially went over a guardrail on Washington Boulevard this afternoon.
The accident happened around 1:00 p.m. on the section of Washington Boulevard between I-395 and Columbia Pike. Initial reports suggest the taxi was heading northbound from I-395 to Washington Boulevard when it ran up an embankment and into the guardrail along the southbound lanes of Washington Boulevard.
The outage has been reported in the Westover and Bluemont neighborhoods, as well as in the area around Virginia Hospital Center. Traffic lights are out along parts of George Mason Drive and Washington Blvd, according to several Twitter users. The outage was first reported just before 12:30 p.m.
Dominion is telling customers the outage is the result of “a circuit breaker issue,” according to a tipster.
The call for an accident involving a motorcycle and a vehicle near the intersection of Washington Blvd and Pershing Drive came in around 8:25 a.m. Washington Boulevard has been shut down for at least an hour while police took photos and investigated the accident. Those lane closures are expected to be lifted shortly.
No word yet on the condition of any of the victims.
Undocumented W-L Valedictorian “Still Kind of Scared” — This year’s Washington-Lee High School valedictorian, 17-year-old Nataly Montano, is one of the young people impacted by President Obama’s recent policy decision to pull back on the deportation of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. Montano, a 4.3 GPA student, says she is “still kind of scared sometimes because things could happen to get me deported.” [Sun Gazette]
New Washington Blvd Trail to Impact Trees — A new trail extension planned for Washington Boulevard between Columbia Pike and Route 50 will result in the removal of “about 350 trees.” The plan has, on some level, pitted bicycle advocates against tree huggers, according to a blog post. [Commuter Page Blog]
A bomb squad investigation has shut down part of Washington Blvd and is causing significant traffic backups.
Washington Blvd in the eastbound/southbound direction has been shut at S. 2nd St, near Route 50. While the investigation continues, there will be various closings in the area, including on S. 2nd St.
Traffic heading toward I-395 on southbound Washington Boulevard is slow due to an accident.
The accident involves at least two cars and two injuries, according to scanner traffic.
Based on a study of the intersection at Washington, Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards, the plan provides safety improvements for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians. Eight other nearby intersections would also be affected by the changes in traffic flow.
The study offers numerous suggestions and sketches of possible redesigns. Some ideas included adding lanes to Washington Blvd, removing left turn lanes, adding bike lanes, adding curb extensions near Liberty Tavern and Sam’s Diner and moving traffic more toward the Silver Diner’s property.
The traffic light sat the busy Clarendon intersection of Washington Boulevard, 10th Street and Fillmore Street is expected to remain dark throughout the morning rush hour following a car accident Thursday night.
Around 7:15 last night a car hopped the curb and took out the traffic signal control box near the Virginia ABC store. One minor injury was reported.
The tricky merge from eastbound Columbia Pike to northbound Washington Boulevard has been made even trickier recently due to high grass.
The merge, which lacks an acceleration lane to get up to the speed of fast-moving traffic on Washington Boulevard, has been the scene of numerous fender benders. While it was still hard for drivers to see oncoming traffic when the grass was mowed, cab drivers tell us that it’s now even harder.
Cool, sunny weather is expected Sunday morning for the Acumen Solutions Race for a Cause 8K.
The race will shut down a number of major Arlington streets — from Ballston to Clarendon to Columbia Pike — for much of the morning. Among the expected closures:
Clarendon residents have taken note of two big, recent changes along Washington Boulevard.
About a week ago, a set of new traffic signals at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and N. Garfield Street were switched on. The traffic lights are helping to bring some order to what was previously a somewhat tricky intersection for Garfield Street traffic.
Washington Boulevard was closed between George Mason Drive and N. Harrison Street, near Virginia Hospital Center, due to a large tree that fell onto the roadway overnight, taking power lines down with it. Authorities have warned that the closure could last “well into the day.”
In the North Rosslyn area, a tree fell across N. Scott Street at the intersection with Lee Highway. The road is closed while crews work to clear the debris, authorities said.
