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 …
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
No one injured in fire that disabled snowplow.
No one was injured in a fire that gutted a snowplow in Falls Church Wednesday. Captain William Moreland, spokesman for Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, said firefighters were called to a car fire in the 7200 block of Arlington Blvd. at 5:25 a.m. The cause of the fire is still unknown. Joan Morris, spokeswoman for VDOT, said the privately owned truck was not contracted out by the organization. Dozens of onlookers drove by the burned out snowplow Wednesday morning to get a glimpse and take pictures. “I hope everyone got out safely,” said Miguel Santos, of Falls Church, who stopped to take a picture of the truck that's still in the parking lot of Loehmann's Plaza. Fairfax County Police didn’t know who the vehicle was registered to. For more …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Falls Church 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 Web 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…
Saturday, November 17, 2012
If you're traveling by car this Thanksgiving in Northern Virginia, try to drive very early in the morning.
About 43.6 million people are planning to travel 50 miles or more for their Thanksgiving meal this year according to AAA—and 90 percent of those people are traveling by car. While Northern Virginia is traffic-heavy throughout the holiday period, the day before Thanksgiving is the heaviest travel day. To help you plan your travel, the Virginia Department of Transportation created this set of maps showing Thanksgiving traffic congestion from Wednesday, Nov. 23 through Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. Unlike last year, the Beltway Express Lanes will be open for Thanksgiving, which may alleviate some of the Thanksgiving travel congestion on Wednesday. The 2011 maps show the heaviest travel in Northern Virginia last year, particularly around the Beltway …
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Dranesville District supervisor John Foust says county was better prepared to handle Sandy.
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust's McLean home has no power Tuesday morning, but he is praising Fairfax County, the Virginia Department of Transportation and Dominion for improving response times to Hurricane Sandy, which hit the East Coast on Monday evening. He said the response is markedly better than the response to the June 29 derecho, which knocked out power to hundreds of thousands in the D.C. metro region. "I think the response has been significantly better than after the derecho - the preparation and the response," Foust said. Communicating storm-related information with the public and warning residents about dangers was drastically better, too, he said. "The county has done an outstanding job getting out statuses and …
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Drivers lose three lanes from Friday night through Monday morning
The Virginia Department of Transportation will shut down I-66 westbound this weekend near the Capital Beltway for excavation, paving, demolition and road marking work. The work is part of the I-495 HOT LANES project. The lane closures, which run 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday, will be done in four phases, according to VDOT. (See provided map and text below for more information) Phase 1 Friday Night: 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. Saturday morning Saturday Night: 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Work area: I-495 north/south, Exit 49, ramps to I-66 west reduced to one lane onto I-66 west. Also I-66 west approaching I-495 reduced to one through lanes. Phase 2 Saturday Morning 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Work area: I-495 north/south, Exit 49, ramps to I-66 west reduced to …
Friday, June 29, 2012
Work scheduled 10 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday; fourth lane will close for 30-minute increments throughout the night
Drivers should expect delays on I-66 West near its intersection with I-495 Friday night as the Virginia Department of Transportation removes an old overhead box girder as part of the 495 HOT LANES project. Between 10 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday, VDOT will close three lanes of I-66 west at I-495, and drivers will be limited to a single lane. After midnight, VDOT said in a release, the fourth lane will close for up to 30 minutes at a time throughout the night; from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m., there will be a one hour temporary stoppage. The exit from I-495 south to I-66 West, Exit 49, will also be closed. Crews will be directing drivers to continue to exit 52B, Little River Turnpike (Route 236) east and follow signs to I-495 north to take Exit 49A…
Friday, June 1, 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 and…
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Three of the new vehicles are on the road already.
The City of Falls Church has added 12 new hybrid pickup trucks to their aging fleet of work vehicles. The 2012 Chevy Silverados were funded by a $418,000 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program grant. The trucks allow the city to address an important air quality and transportation project as expressed in the Comprehensive Plan. Bill Hicks, director of public works, said the grant covered all of the pickups and the city didn’t have to pay anything. "Staff is concerned where money goes," Hicks said Monday. "This doesn't take away from anything." Karin Battle, the city's contract manager said the grant was submitted in 2008 and approved by council in 2011. She said the grant comes through VDOT and the process took a …
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Expect lane closures and occasional detours at night and on weekends.
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Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Over the spring and summer, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) plans to repave 24 miles of the 32-mile, six-lane Fairfax County Parkway between Route 7 in Dranesville and Rolling Road in Springfield. The $19 million maintenance project will take place mostly at night and on weekends, and will require lane closures and occasional detours. In advance of the work, VDOT will hold four community meetings along the corridor to communicate the work plan and schedule. Each meeting will begin at 7 p.m. While work will begin in April and be complete in October, the work that will have the greatest effect on traffic will be scheduled from June until Labor Day, when Fairfax County schools are out for the summer. Crews will re-pave the …
Don Frickel
12:38 pm on Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Don't forget Timberly which usually waits the longest for restoration (Crossover and Old Gate). more ›