The aftermath of the storm yesterday (Thursday) has left more than 1,300 residents around Falls Church without power and caused several road closures.
The Dominion Energy map shows two power outages currently in Falls Church as of 10:45 a.m. today (May 24) — one affecting 1,009 customers from West Street to Lincoln Avenue and another one affecting 324 customers around Shreve Road above Jefferson District Park.
Dominion expects that power will be restored later tonight for both outages between 6-11 p.m.
Several roads in Dunn Loring and Falls Church were still closed as of 8:33 a.m., according to a released list from the Fairfax County Police Department. FCPD will update the list throughout the day.
The following roads closed in FCPD’s McLean District are:
- Winder and Drexel streets
- Jefferson and Woodlawn avenues
- Elmwood and Stuart drives
- Marshall Street between Jefferson and Farragut avenues
- Woodley Place between Lee Hwy and Deborah Drive
- 2900 block of Rogers Drive
- 2900 block of Wallace Drive
- 2700 block of Greenway Blvd
Local storm reports from the National Weather Service yesterday around 7:30 p.m. reported “a tree uprooted and many large branches snapped” by the intersection of Route 50 and I-495, a large fallen tree blocking Summerfield Road and S. Washington Street and “downed wires and trees” near Jackson Avenue and Summerfield Road.
A few people took to Twitter to share a video of the thunderstorm in Tysons yesterday and spottings of downed trees and power lines.
Thunderstorm rolling into Tysons Corner and the W2 Communications offices ⛈⚡️ @capitalweather pic.twitter.com/ixp67wIS2D
— W2 Communications (@W2Comm) May 23, 2019
Driving from Merrifield to Tysons and seeing a ton of downed limbs and branches. Winds here were legit during yesterday’s storms
— Andrew King (@H2Omaker71) May 24, 2019
Map via Dominion Energy
A parade and fireworks are planned for a pair of Memorial Day commemorative events in the Tysons area.
On Sunday (May 26), the U.S. Marine Band will play a free concert at the Filene Center (1551 Trap Road) in Wolf Trap National Park. A fireworks display is planned to follow the concert.
Gates open at 6:30 p.m. for lawn and in-house seating, with curtains opening at 8 p.m. the fireworks are planned to start at around 9:45 p.m.
Seating capacity for the event is limited. The Fairfax Connector bus from the West Falls Church Metro station will not be available for the event. Parking is free and attendees can get $5 off two Lyft rides with the code WOLFTRAP19.
On Monday (May 27), the City of Falls Church is hosting its 38th Annual Memorial Day Festival and Parade with an expected 12,000 visitors. The festival is planned to feature food, live entertainment, artists and various vendors.
The Don Beyer Volvo 3K Fun Run is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. The parade is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
Free public parking will be available in the Kaiser Permanente garage at the corner of N. Washington Street and Park Avenue and at the George Mason Square garage (103 W. Broad Street).
The parade and festival will also result in several street closures.
- Park Avenue will be closed from 5:30 a.m.-7 p.m. between N. Maple Avenue to N. Virginia Avenue (except for limited vendor traffic)
- Little Falls Streed will be closed from 5:30 a.m.-7 p.m. between Park Avenue to Great Falls Street
- Great Falls Street
- Pennsylvania Avenue
- Fulton Avenue
- N. Oak Street
- Lincoln Avenue
- N. West Street
- Park Avenue
Other Memorial Day events around the area include:
- The Murphy Challenge: Memorial Day Workout and Grill-Out — 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at CrossFit Tysons Corner (8452 Tyco Road) — The event is a fundraiser to support educational charities to honor the life of Lt. Michael Murphy. Three workouts will be held followed by a grilling event, with attendees asked to bring a drink or dish to share. Visitors and non-members can sign up online.
- Memorial Day Annual Pool Party — 12-2 p.m. at Sport&Health McLean (1800 Old Meadow Road) — The summer barbecue and pool event is hosted by Sport&Health McLean and will include information about aquatics programs, camps and more.
Photo via Facebook
Church Street NE is closed until 3 p.m. today (May 1) between Glyndon and Park streets.
The temporary closure started at 9 a.m., according to a tweet from the Town of Vienna.
The road is closed “so that Dominion Energy can do emergency repairs to replace a faulty switch,” the tweet says.
Next week, a different portion of Church Street will be closed for four weeks. Starting Monday (May 6), the 300 block of Church Street will be closed from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on weekdays for installation of a new sidewalk, storm sewer, curb and gutter and driveway aprons.
Image via Google Maps
Be warned, Fairfax County is under a wind advisory and it’s beginning to have residual impacts across the region.
Winds are expected to last all day with the strongest winds around noon.
⚠️ A Wind Advisory has been issued for today.
🕗 8 am- 8 pm; the strongest winds are likely from late morning and through the afternoon hours.
💨 Expect 20-30 mph winds with gusts up to 50 mph.
📱Keep electronic devices charged as scattered power outages are expected. pic.twitter.com/fxdGxS09oU— Ready Fairfax (@ReadyFairfax) April 15, 2019
According to the National Weather Service, the maximum wind gusts up to 50 mph are expected throughout the region, with most locations seeing up to 30 or 40 mph wind.
The strong winds are also having an impact on some local roads. Early this morning, Westmoreland Street at Orland Street in McLean was closed due to low hanging wires. The situation has been resolved since then and the street is now open.
UPDATE: Westmoreland St at Orland St in McLean now open. https://t.co/9jWkZUlUWY
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) April 15, 2019
Image via Twitter
The eastbound lane of Linway Terrace, a two-way street in McLean just north of Chesterbrook, is scheduled to be closed between Bryan Branch Road and Linway Park Drive for much of next week.
The closures will last from Monday, March 25 through Thursday, March 28, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). The closures are planned to last from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. each day for stormwater pipe replacement.
“Linway Terrace will have alternating one-lane traffic via flagging,” VDOT wrote in a press release. “Drivers can expect delays and are advised to use alternate routes.”
Linway Terrance isn’t the only street nearby with roadwork planned soon. Kirby Road, just to the east of Linway Terrace, will likely experience closures as a new sidewalk and other improvements are constructed later this year.
Photo of Linway Terrace via Google Maps. Map of work zone via VDOT.
Update on 3/24/19 — The sinkhole has been filled and all lanes of the Parkway have reopened, according to the National Park Service.
Sinkhole filled! Road repaved. And the George Washington Memorial Parkway will reopen in all directions about 2 pm. Huge thanks to @USDOTFHWA @VaDOT and @VSPPIO for all the help! https://t.co/CNjDfOEKCc pic.twitter.com/uVpWOAV65X
— National Parks of Greater Washington, DC (@NPSNewsDC) March 23, 2019
Earlier: The northbound lanes of the GW Parkway are closed due to a large sinkhole that was discovered overnight.
Heavy rain Thursday may have contributed to the sinkhole’s formation.
It’s reportedly located near the Dead Run Trail, closer to the Parkway’s junction with the Beltway. The road was completely closed between Route 123 and the Beltway for much of the morning. The southbound lanes were reopened Friday afternoon.
Northbound traffic is being diverted onto Route 123, which in turn had morning rush hour traffic backed up at least a mile and a half past Chain Bridge.
No word yet on when the sinkhole might be repaired, though the northbound lanes are expected to remain closed through the weekend. Crews are currently evaluating the extent of the damage, said to be caused by a broken storm water pipe.
More from a National Park Service press release:
Northbound George Washington Memorial Parkway will remain closed through the weekend as road crews and engineers work to fully assess the extent of the sinkhole and repair the road.
Throughout the day, crews have been working to excavate around a damaged stormwater drainage pipe to determine the best way to safely and effectively fill the void and quickly reopen the road.
Preliminary findings indicate that the sinkhole is about 10 feet deep, 12 feet wide and 30 feet long. Once crews complete the extensive excavation work needed to fully access the damaged area, experts will better be able to determine how long it will take to fully repair the pipe and rebuild this section of road before reopening the northbound Parkway to travel.
As a critical link in the region’s transportation network, closing the George Washington Memorial Park is never a decision that is made lightly. The National Park Service is cautiously hopeful that some travel may be permitted by Monday, but drivers should follow local news or visit www.nps.gov/GWMP for the latest information.
Just before 6 a.m. Friday, March 22 a car traveling northbound in the right lane hit the sinkhole adjacent to the road. The driver lost control of their vehicle hitting a stone wall before coming to rest just off the side of the Parkway. When first responders arrived on scene they determined there was an active sinkhole under the road and initiated a closure of the northbound Parkway.
The driver was evaluated by paramedics on scene but declined any further care.
An initial assessment of the road found a large sinkhole deep under the surface of the roadway that extended for an unknown distance. Out of an abundance of caution, National Park Service maintenance crews in consultation with public safety personnel and experts from the Federal Highway Administration, made the hard decision to also close the southbound lanes.
Further assessment revealed damage to a large concrete stormwater drainage pipe that runs deep below the Parkway. Experts from the Federal Highway Administration worked quickly to better assess the potential risk to the southbound lanes, and ultimately determined is did not post an immediate threat. At approximately 11 a.m. the NPS reopened the southbound lanes for travel.
Sinkholes are common occurrences in the Greater Washington area, and are often preceded by high volumes of rain like the region saw on March 21.
More information will be released when it is available.
More via social media:
Our road crew is on scene with @ffxfirerescue and we are calling additional experts to evaluate extent of damage. Extended closure likely. #VaTraffic https://t.co/0uGomupBbQ
— National Parks of Greater Washington, DC (@NPSNewsDC) March 22, 2019
Sinkhole below GW Parkway appears to be caused by a broken storm water pipe deep below ground. This is unrelated to the road surface or condition of the GW Parkway. Once we know how long the void is & associated risk we’ll determine extent of continued road closure. #VATraffic pic.twitter.com/mvwQhHsfh8
— National Parks of Greater Washington, DC (@NPSNewsDC) March 22, 2019
#BreakingNews GW Parkway south of 495 in #vatraffic is now completely CLOSED, video from #Chopper4 shows workers measuring a sinkhole appearing to be about 6-8 feet deep and three feet wide, possibly running under roadway #dctraffic @nbcwashington @wtop pic.twitter.com/uwdYQYoqvW
— ʙʀᴀᴅ ꜰʀᴇɪᴛᴀꜱ (@Chopper4Brad) March 22, 2019
MAJOR TRAFFIC ALERT: Thursday's deluge likely contributed to a large sinkhole along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Fairfax County that has caused major traffic issues Friday morning. https://t.co/EEXmymJ2Ti @caitlinrothfox5 #fox5traffic pic.twitter.com/WqYJoLcdQj
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) March 22, 2019
Both lanes of the GW Parkway are still shut down, as they were when there was a traffic nightmare during the morning rush hour.
This is the scene of a sinkhole in-between the Beltway & 123 that caused all this. pic.twitter.com/FdlIm3C0OP— Tom Roussey (@tomroussey7news) March 22, 2019
Getting up close look at the damage on the GW parkway now – half the road is completely gone @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/sTUZZjTlsz
— Adam Tuss (@AdamTuss) March 22, 2019
Map via Google Maps
The partially open Jones Branch Connector will be completely closed this weekend — now the second weekend in a row for the closure — to facilitate some additional bridge work.
According to a press release from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT):
- The southbound 495 express lanes between the Jones Branch Connector off-ramp and the Jones Branch Connector on-ramp
- The eastbound Dulles Toll Road ramp to southbound 495 express lanes
- Eastbound and westbound lanes of the Jones Branch Connector between Jones Branch Drive and the 495 express lanes.
Like last week, VDOT says if the weather cooperates, the closure is scheduled to run from Saturday (March 9) at 5 a.m. to Monday (March 11) at 4 a.m.
The closure is to allow crews to continue working on the bridge deck, and further closures may be on the horizon.
“Following the closures this weekend, a few more weekend closures will be necessary in order to construct the new parts of the bridge,” VDOT staff said in an email. “We will send out traffic alerts for those future weekend closures once those dates are confirmed, before they’re scheduled to occur.”
Image via VDOT
A series of closures are planned on and around the Jones Branch Connector this weekend to facilitate more bridge deck work on the bridge.
According to a press release from the Virginia Department of Transportation, the following streets will be closed:
- The southbound 495 express lanes between the Jones Branch Connector off-ramp and the Jones Branch Connector on-ramp
- The eastbound Dulles Toll Road ramp to southbound 495 express lanes
- Eastbound and westbound lanes of the Jones Branch Connector between Jones Branch Drive and the 495 express lanes.
The closures will run from 5 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday) to 4 a.m. on Monday (March 4).
The northbound 495 express lanes ramp will remain an option, but only for drivers turning right towards Route 123 via eastbound Scotts Crossing Drive.
The bridge partially opened in December with final completion planned for fall 2019.
Lee Highway Blocked — Updated at 9:05 a.m. — “Lee Highway is shut down in both directions at Kalmia Lee Court in Falls Church due to utility wires across the roadway. Please use an alternate route as you travel this morning.” [Twitter]
Longtime Local Firefighter Retires — “Today Master Technician George Hood from Station 13, Dunn Loring, B-Shift is serving the residents of Fairfax County one last time. He will be retiring after 34 years of dedicated service at the end of this shift.” [Facebook]
McLean Girl’s Struggle with Arthritis — “Last August, 2-year-old Reese Sheers began waking up, saying she was stuck and couldn’t move her arms. Then it started happening every two hours, and she couldn’t roll over or sit up in her crib. She would get better as the day went on, but the pain would become frequent enough that the family would seek medical help.” [Patch]
Author Signing Books in Tysons Tonight — Columnist Michael Tomasky will be signing copies of his new book “If We Can Keep It: How the Republic Collapsed and How it Might Be Saved,” at the Tysons Barnes & Noble store tonight. [Instagram]
Discussion of the Gender Pay Gap — “The Women of Temple Rodef Shalom (2100 Westmoreland St., Falls Church) will be hosting a comprehensive forum titled, ‘Gender Pay Gap and You’ as a part of the fifth annual Women’s Empowerment Program on Sunday, Feb. 10.” [Falls Church News-Press]
(Updated at 4:50 p.m.) The westbound lanes of W. Broad Street in the City of Falls Church were closed Wednesday afternoon due to a crash.
Both westbound lanes and one eastbound lane of W. Broad Street were closed between Oak and Spring streets, according to the city. The lanes reopened prior to 3:30 p.m.
The crash involved two vehicles, one of which flipped on its side. One female vehicle occupant was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, we’re told.
UPDATE: Both westbound lanes are closed as well as one eastbound lane. https://t.co/PKmnbcmCGV
— City of Falls Church (@FallsChurchGov) January 30, 2019
