Wednesday, March 6, 2013
It'll be icy and windy out there tonight.
Thousands of snow plow, tree contractors and salt truck drivers slept in their trucks Wednesday night, as the Virginia Department of Transportation ordered trucks to stand by on the side of the road or in parking lots for downed power lines and icy roadways. VDOT is warning drivers to be ready for "rapidly changing weather conditions," according to their website. "Monitor your local media and the National Weather Service resources for weather information." Plows Waiting... "The temperature is supposed to drop tonight (Wednesday). That's why we're still hanging around," said plow driver David Pullen of Rappahannock County's A-Z Services LLC, which has ten trucks contracted by VDOT to Fairfax County. Pullen had been parked along Clifton …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Expect area roadways with 2+ inches of snow to be plowed and/or treated with chemicals.
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 street has been plowed, is in progress or has not been started yet, by checking the VDOT Web site: http://www.novasnowplowing.virginia.gov/ Area roads are expected to be treacherously slick due to snowfall, and VDOT is tasked with maintaining 17,679 miles of roadways in Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Arlington counties. “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 …
Thursday, February 28, 2013
It's now a County responsibility to clean up signs in medians and near roads managed by the Commonwealth.
Tired of seeing all those illegally placed signs on the median during election season? A recently-passed bill in the Virginia General Assembly has given localities in Virginia the ability to clean up local signs and fine offenders up to $100. “Not only is this a safety issue, but it is a quality of life issue. If you live near a neighborhood with 15 signs at intersection that say ‘We buy houses’ or ‘We clean gutters,’ it looks horrible and reduces our property values,” said Delegate Dave Albo (R-42), who sponsored the bill. According to House Bill 34: Any person who in any manner paints, prints, places, puts or affixes any sign or advertisement upon or to any rock, stone, tree, fence, stump, pole, mile-board, milestone, danger-sign, …
Thursday, January 17, 2013
And it'll last until mid-February.
Don't be alarmed if you hear a prolonged series of banging noises in Lorton next week. Starting on Jan. 23, contractors with the Virginia Department of Transportation will be pile-driving during the daytime on Furnace Road and Interstate 95 as part of the $1 billion 95 Express Lanes project. The work is expected to be finished in mid-February. According to VDOT: "This new project will create approximately 29 miles of Express Lanes on I-95. This project will add capacity to the existing HOV Lanes from the Prince William Parkway to the vicinity of Edsall Road; improve the existing two HOV lanes for six miles from Route 234 to the Prince William Parkway. A nine-mile reversible two-lane extension of the existing HOV lanes from Dumfries to …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
It's been closed since July.
The Hooes Road Bridge over Accotink Creek is back. The Virginia Department of Transportation re-opened the three-span, 150-foot-long structure, on Dec. 28. Repairs on the $1.25 million project began in July, and included: VDOT estimates that 330 vehicles use the bridge on a daily basis. Some small repairs remain, and the entire project is estimated to be completed in April by contractor Martins Construction Company.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
The closure is part of the I-95 Express Lanes Project.
Starting Monday, the I-95 southbound slip ramp to Lorton will close permanently. According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, "In the Springfield area, motorists will transition from the southbound I-95 HOV lanes to the general purpose lanes using the left exit ramp marked: Route 286 Fairfax County Parkway/Newington/Ft. Belvoir. The next opportunity to exit the southbound HOV lanes will be at Route 1, Exit 161." See the PDF at right for a map and other details on this closure. The exit is closing as part of the ongoing 95 Express Lanes construction project that could make travel faster on 95 throughout Northern Virginia. To use the new Express Lanes, you'll need an EZ Pass. For more on the Express Lanes construction, visit www…
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Ownership and history collide on a one-lane bridge.
The century-old footings that support the old, one-lane Route 600 Gunston Cove Road bridge have washed out or deteriorated, but confusion over ownership — and a potential historic designation — is delaying any repairs or demolition. The bridge, which crosses two railroad lines, closed in 2004, and Fairfax County authorities have recommended demolition. CSX Corporation and the Virginia Department of Transportation both have some history with the bridge. Virginia State Delegate Dave Albo described the situation well on his blog: "Gunston Cove Bridge was washed out during Hurricane Isabel. I personally inspected the bridge and found the footers to be sitting on an eroded hill. The guard rails were so weak that I could push them over with …
Thursday, June 14, 2012
You can find comprehensive travel information via VDOT's 511 service on your phone, the web and now as an app for iOS and Android devices.
Last month, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) announced that their 511 service is now available for Android phones and tablets and Apple's iPhones and iPads as a free app. The service was previously available via phone calls to the 511 number and on the web at www.511virginia.org. As we all too well know, summertime travel on Virginia roads can be unpredictable. There are of course some known knowns, to paraphrase a former Secretary of Defense, such as I-95 South will be a parking lot every Friday from 2 p.m. onward. But when you encounter stalled traffic on a late evening mid-week as you try to run errands or when you find out too late that there are going to be periodic lane closures on the beltway to accommodate …
Monday, March 26, 2012
VDOT plans work on 24 miles April through October.
The Virginia Department of Transportation will repave 24 miles of the 32-mile, six-lane Fairfax County Parkway between Route 7 in Dranesville and Rolling Road in Springfield beginning this spring and lasting through October. 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 is holding four community meetings along the corridor to communicate the plan and schedule. Each meeting will begin at 7 p.m. "While work will begin in April and be complete in October, the heaviest traffic impacts will be scheduled from June until Labor Day, when Fairfax County schools are out for the summer," said VDOT. "Crews will re-pave the …
38.78737
-77.2394
West Springfield High School
6100 Rolling Rd, Springfield, VA
/articles/fairfax-county-parkway-repaving-scheduled
1300854
/locations/6665228
38.81609
-77.308679
Robinson Secondary School
5035 Sideburn Rd, Fairfax, VA
/articles/fairfax-county-parkway-repaving-scheduled
1788051
/locations/6665229
Friday, February 17, 2012
It means new route numbers and funding sources for the Fairfax County, Prince William, and Franconia-Springfield Parkways
Three busy local roadways are now eligible to get a boost from the federal government. This week, the Fairfax County Parkway, Prince William Parkway and Franconia-Springfield Parkway were transferred from secondary to primary road status by the Commonwealth Transportation Board. That means that federal money is available for multiple projects, including paving, guardrail and bridge repairs. "Federal funding typically covers 80 percent of the cost to maintain interstates and primary roads, with the remaining 20 percent from state funds," according to a Virginia Department of Transportation press release. New Classification Means a New Name To avoid confusion, over the next three months VDOT will replace old road identification signs …
Sally Spangler
12:20 pm on Saturday, January 19, 2013
It is not the pile driving that irritates me it is the banging and clanging at night long into the night when I am in bed ready to sleep. It has been going on for some time. I trust that it will reach its conclusion soon. more ›