Tuesday, April 2, 2013
A special promotion is in effect Saturday and Sunday to encourage travelers to try out the new express lanes.
Drivers this weekend can use the Interstate 495 Beltway Express Lanes for free — no E-ZPass required. The free weekend, April 6 and 7, is part of an educational campaign to encourage Beltway drivers to try the new travel option on the Virginia side of the Capital Beltway and see how the Express Lanes can work for them, according to the 495 Express Lanes project. In addition to two days of free travel, the Express Lanes will also lift the E-ZPass requirement. Drivers can travel on the Express Lanes with or without an E-ZPass and will not be charged a toll. At all other times, drivers are required to travel with an E-ZPass; carpoolers must have an E-ZPass Flex. Free Express Lanes travel is only available this weekend to two-axle vehicles. …
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Seven new locations will show miles and minutes to destinations beginning in April with additional signs expected by summer.
How slow can you go? That and other questions will be answered beginning Tuesday on Interstate 66, when motorists will begin to see travel times displayed on additional overhead message boards spanning the 35 miles from Washington to Haymarket. The Virginia Department of Transportation has posted the number of miles and minutes since August 2011 to key destinations at three locations between the Beltway and Gainsville. Several more locations will be added by summer — two on I-66 and four locations on major roads approaching I-66. Congestion Conundrum: Rail or Roads? We already know traffic in the Washington metro area is the worst in the country, according to the Texas Transportation Institute. How to alleviate congestion in Northern …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
The first so-called Super Stop opened this week at Walter Reed and Columbia Pike.
The $1 million price tag on the first so-called Super Stop along the Columbia Pike corridor gave Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey an opening Tuesday to voice opposition to the planned streetcar. The Super Stop, which opened this month at Walter Reed and Columbia Pike, is designed to hold 10 to 15 passengers and allow two buses to stop in front of it at a time. Real-time ART and Metrobus information is available and the county hopes to install an exit fare machine in the future. Garvey wasn't impressed. "It is pretty, but I was struck by the fact that if it's pouring rain, I'm going to get wet," she said. "It's not much of a shelter." County officials on Tuesday emphasized the various factors that fed into that price and pledged …
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Potential for icy roads and windy conditions to continue before temperatures warm Thursday.
Thousands of snow plow drivers and tree contractors might be sleeping in their trucks tonight, as the Virginia Department of Transportation has ordered them to stand by on the side of the road or in parking lots to respond to icy roadways and downed power lines. VDOT is warning drivers to be ready for "rapidly changing weather conditions," according to its website. Arlington County crews are also continuing to treat secondary roadways to prevent the Wednesday slush from turning to ice. See Arlington County snow removal status updates and maps here. "The temperature is supposed to drop tonight. That's why we're still hanging around," said plow driver David Pullen of Rappahannock County's A-Z Services, which has 10 trucks contracted by VDOT…
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Arlington County under winter storm warning through 3 a.m. Thursday.
The Virginia Department of Transportation is sending out 4,000 salt trucks and snow plows across Northern Virginia before 4 a.m. on Wednesday morning, due to the snow storm headed for Northern Virginia. Once it begins snowing and later, you can find out whether your neighborhood has been plowed, is in progress or has not been started yet by checking the VDOT site: www.novasnowplowing.virginia.gov. Area roads are expected to be treacherously slick due to mixed percipitation and snow, and VDOT is tasked with maintaining 17,679 miles of roadways in Northern Virginia. “We are urging commuters to stay off the road on Wednesday and let our crews clear the roads,” said VDOT maintenance engineer Branco Vlacich in a press release. “Roads likely …
The high-tech system will span 34 miles of roadway, from the District of Columbia to the town of Haymarket in Prince William County.
The Virginia Department of Transportation and Gov. Bob McDonnell announced a new high-tech system coming to Virginia's Interstate 66 that is meant to help reduce congestion through better communication with drivers and improved traffic flow via lane control signs. The system, known as Active Traffic Management, is relatively new to American roadways, though it has been used on highways throughout Europe. "Conditions on I-66 in Northern Virginia demand the deployment of this innovative technology and commuters will benefit from improved safety and increased communication during incidents and congestion," McDonnell stated in a news release. Such systems continuously monitor traffic with high-tech tools like vehicle-detection sensors and …
Friday, December 14, 2012
Lane closure under Washington Boulevard bridge will remain in effect through 2014.
A new traffic pattern took effect this week on eastbound Columbia Pike at the Washington Boulevard bridge and will remain in place through 2014. One of the two eastbound lanes below the bridge is now closed to traffic, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. Eastbound vehicles in the right lane must take the exit to Washington Boulevard. Eastbound vehicles in the left lane can take the exit or continue east. Construction is under way to replace the Washington Boulevard bridge over the Pike and is scheduled to be complete by summer 2015. More information is on the VDOT project page.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Officials formally marked the completion of a $6 million bridge replacement project on Glebe Road over Arlington Boulevard on Wednesday.
Virginia Department of Transportation and Arlington County officials on Wednesday formally celebrated the completion of a $6 million bridge replacement on Glebe Road over Arlington Boulevard. The entire bridge, about 100 feet long, was replaced over a 15-month construction window. The new bridge is 27 feet wider, according to VDOT. The state agency worked with the county and community to implement improvements such as: "All of this is an enormous enhancement to the way this community works," Arlington County Board Chairwoman Mary Hynes said. In March 2009, concrete fell from the bridge into a travel lane on Arlington Boulevard. Nick Roper, VDOT district bridge engineer, said he was answering phones all morning in Richmond the day that …
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Public comments accepted on proposal through June 12.
A proposal under consideration by the Virginia Department of Transportation would assess a monthly fee for E-ZPass users of about $1 per transponder. E-ZPass is the system that allows drivers to pass through toll plazas more quickly by carrying transponders that automatically charge tolls to a registered account. VDOT has proposed the fee to help defray administrative and operations costs within the state for the service. Most of the E-ZPass toll facilities are not operated by VDOT. The program has grown significantly over the years and will be part of new toll services opening during the next few years. The proposed monthly fee would cover costs for: The fee — which would be reevaluated on a regular basis — would also help control costs …
Sunday, May 13, 2012
VDOT: Project will take three years to complete.
- NEWS
-
Sunday, May 13, 2012
On Tuesday, road crews will stop nighttime traffic on Washington Boulevard up to 30 minutes at a time as part of the construction of a new bridge over Columbia Pike, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. VDOT recommends drivers find an alternate route that night. Some daytime lane closures already have already been in effect as the $51.5 million, three-year project gets fully under way. Drivers should expect single lane closures from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily in both directions on Washington Boulevard, according to a VDOT news release. Periodic lane shifts will begin this summer. This week's night work is scheduled for 9 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday. Single lanes initially will be closed between Interstate 395 and the …
ArlVaPete
7:18 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
If a bus stop took two years, it'll be 2030 before the streetcar is done. And honestly, what's with a shelter that doesn't shelter. more ›