New $34 Million Traffic Management System Coming to I-66

The high-tech system will span 34 miles of roadway along I-66 from the District of Columbia to Haymarket, Va.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Governor Bob McDonnell announced a new high-tech system coming to Virginia's I-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 (ATM), 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," Governor Bob McDonnell said in a press release. ATM systems continuously monitor traffic with high-tech tools like vehicle-…

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LeMunyon's Bill Aims to Get NOVA More Road Maintenance Funds

Bill from Oakton's delegate would overhaul how money is allocated in Virginia.

By Destiny Brandon, Capital News Service Northern Virginia would get a bigger share of the state’s highway maintenance funds under legislation being sponsored by Oakton's Del. Jim LeMunyon (R-Oak Hill). House Bill 1884 would allocate the funds “on the basis of vehicle miles traveled in each highway construction district compared to vehicle miles traveled in the Commonwealth as a whole.” A subcommittee of the House Transportation Committee voted 3-2 in favor of HB 1884. The bill is awaiting a vote by the full committee. The three subcommittee members who favored the measure are all delegates from Northern Virginia: Republicans Tom Rust of Herndon and Randy Minchewof Leesburg, and Democrat Eileen Filler-Corn of Springfield. Republican …

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Plum Urges Transportation Compromise

Virginia Democratic Caucus says there is no magic bullet for tolls, traffic solutions.

Del. Ken Plum (D-Reston), whose district includes parts of Vienna and Oakton, was among a group of house delegates Monday who spoke out in Richmond about Virginia traffic. Plum called "some of the worst transportation gridlock in the country" and offered bipartisan support to solutions to the problem. "From the north end of the urban crescent in Northern Virginia - with the third- worst commute in the nation - to the southern end at Virginia Beach with the 18th-worst commute, Virginians pay dearly with the lost time, money, and quality of life because of traffic congestion," Plum said at a news conference held by the House Democratic Caucus. Among the goals for the House Democrats: To see a 5-percent wholesale gas tax; giving urban areas …

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Weekend Track Work: Orange Line Gets Break for Holiday

Metro has scheduled limited track work for the weekend before the New Year's holiday.

Taking the Metro to get around this weekend? Here’s what to expect Saturday and Sunday. According to a Metro news release: The only planned work will take place on the Green Line, and will only affect customers traveling to or from Greenbelt Station. Green Line trains will single track between Greenbelt and College Park to allow for construction associated with a new track to test 7000-series railcars. As a result:

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Letters to the Editor

Tysons Tax: A Bitter But Necessary Pill

Resident says since state "all but abandoned us to find our own source of funds," tax in Tysons is necessary — but with it should come with more input from the people who live there.

Controversy has shrouded the planning process of Tysons once again, this time in protest to the long debated (over two years in fact) tax for infrastructure on all land owners in the district. At its heart opponents believe the tax is just another nuisance being imposed on them, and many say it should be the developers who pay for these costs, as they reap all the benefits. Some feel that Fairfax County's Board of Supervisors envisioned plans that were grand, but avoided figuring out a way to pay for it. They believe the unforeseen costs are now being passed onto the residents. Those are interesting points, but sadly most who are arguing this case simply have not been in touch with the discussions and reality of the past three years. This …

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Terry Maynard

10:49 am on Sunday, December 23, 2012

Navid--SInce you have fallen to the level of personal insults in your remarks, I am no longer going to engage in this dialogue. Merry Christmas!   more ›

Local Road Funds Unlikely to Come from General Assembly

Virginia officials doubt Fairfax County will get money for transportation projects in 2013 legislative session.

As officials sat down Tuesday to discuss priorities for the legislature’s fast-approaching 2013 session, the county’s widely publicized road funding woes—a $3 billion need for road projects and improvements over the next decade—took center stage. The county faces a $300 million per year funding shortfall for the next 10 years. But nobody is quite sure where the money will come from. And at Tuesday's joint meeting of county supervisors and representatives from the Virginia State Senate and General Assembly, tidings were grim.  “I honestly don’t expect a transportation bill to pass this session,” Del. Vivian Watts (D-39th) said. The Commonwealth’s Secondary Road Program, from which the county used to get $29 million annually, is dry. The …

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Bob Bruhns

12:39 pm on Saturday, December 15, 2012

It might help if someone would look at the double price of the Dulles Rail - Silver Line project. We are throwing money away on that project to the tune of $2.5 billion to $3 Billion of overcharge, and then we are paying finance costs on the money we have to borrow to PAY for that overcharge. Nobody seems to care because the game is really about grabbing that money, not stopping the robbery. The …   more ›

Weekend Metro: Single Tracking on Orange Line

A look at what you need to know about Metro the weekend of Dec. 7 to 9.

Taking the Metro to get around this weekend? Trains will single track between East and West Falls Church starting Friday night through the system's closing Sunday. The work, for Metro's new Silver Line, will add about 15 minutes to customers' travel time, Metro said. Other planned work, according to Metro's news release, includes (all work takes place between 10 p.m. Friday and closing Sunday unless otherwise noted):   Orange Line Red Line Green Line Yellow Line Blue Line

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Vehicle, Bicycle Collisions Up in Fairfax County

Officials hopeful bicycle master plan will make roads safer for Fairfax County cyclists.

Accidents between vehicles and bicycles in Fairfax County are happening more frequently this year — the latest claiming the life of a Falls Church woman. There have been 54 collisions between vehicles and bicycles this year with one fatality, up from 44 accidents between bicyclists and vehicles with no fatalities in 2011. On Nov. 12, Elizabeth P. Shattuck, 58, of Falls Church, was hit by a pickup truck while she was walking from the north to south side of Columbia Pike. Police pronounced her dead at the scene, marking the first Fairfax County death resulting from a bicycle versus vehicle accident in two years. The accident is still under investigation, and charges have yet to be filed. Greg Billing, a spokesman for the Washington Area …

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Fairfax Transit in 2050: Survey Closes Friday

Online Department of Transportation survey seeks resident input on transportation options

Residents have two more days to weigh in on the future of transportation in Fairfax County. The 2050 Countywide Transit Network Study, launched last month by the department of transportation to determine how public transit system expansion plans can best meet the county’s goals for long-term economic growth, will close to the public Aug. 10.  "An objective of the study is to develop an inter-connected rapid transit system network that gets people where they need to go that connects with transit in Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun and Prince William [counties]," said Tom Burke, a senior transportation planner in the county’s DOT, at a public meeting in Fairfax last month. The 25-question online survey asks questions ranging from what makes …

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UPDATE: HOV Requirements Lifted on I-66W for Afternoon Commute

All drivers can use the lanes inside the Beltway during the afternoon rush

Update (2:30 p.m.): The Virginia Department of Transportation has lifted the high-occupancy vehicle requirements of two or more passengers for today's afternoon commute on westbound Interstate 66 inside the Beltway. VDOT has also lifted the requirements for both the morning and afternoon commutes Tuesday. HOV requirements will be lifted for I-66 eastbound commuters in the morning, and I-66 westbound commuters in the afternoon.  Regular HOV restrictions will remain in effect on I-66 outside the Beltway and on I-95/395. ----- Original: HOV Requirements on I-66E Lifted for Monday Commute The Virginia Department of Transportation will lift high occupancy vehicle (HOV) requirements for Monday morning's rush hour to ease traffic in the aftermath…

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