Get There

7:50 A.M. UPDATE: The fallen tree is blocking the northbound lanes of the GW Parkway at route 123. Southbound lanes are open. The U.S. Park Police reported that the tree fell on the parkway north of Turkey Run at approximately 6:15 a.m., and either two or three cars were struck by the tree and related debris (no injuries were reported). Officials and park service maintenance crews are on the scene trying to remove the tree.

ORIGINAL POST: A fallen tree is blocking George Washington Parkway at Route 123/Chain Bridge Road, possibly in both directions. The tree is believed to have fallen on the northbound side of the parkway.

A multiple-vehicle accident earlier this morning on the Beltway is causing delays for drivers as the morning rush picks up. The Maryland State Police reported that two tractor-trailers and six other vehicles were involved in the accident, which took place on the outer loop of the Beltway to the west of Connecticut Avenue. The state police reported to it at 6:50 a.m.

7:30 A.M. UPDATE: There are no lane closures related to this accident, the Maryland State Police reported. Three lanes of I-495/the outer loop were closed due to the accident, but they have reopened and the tractor-trailers have been moved to the shoulder. The tractor-trailers are now waiting to be towed.

Maintenance on Orange Line: Metro riders between Cheverly and New Carrollton should add at least 20 minutes to their normal travel time Monday night through Wednesday and again on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Trains will be sharing a single track around the maintenance area between 9:30 p.m. and the midnight closing each night.

The transit authority issued a formal announcement Monday confirming the news that had trickled out Wednesday and Thursday: The changes in the SmartBenefits program have been postponed.

SmartBenefits seminars that were to have explained the changes to confused employers so they could explain them to their confused employees have been canceled. "Federal and private employers will receive formal notifications of any further changes," the Metro statement said. The transit authority is asking the IRS for a year's extension on implementing the new system for giving out and monitoring the benefit money.

While Metro did the right thing in postponing the changes that baffled many thousands of SmarTrip card users, this whole episode was just plain weird.

Update (5:45 p.m.):: Old Glebe Road from Tazewell to North Glebe Road will remain closed for the next day or so as crews try to repair the break, said Dave Hundelt, an Arlington County engineer.

One lane of northbound North Glebe Road near the intersection of Old Glebe Road will also remain closed for some time.

According to Hundelt, the main was 36 inches wide and could take a few days to repair.

Update (3 p.m.):: The break occurred in a 20-inch water main, said county spokeswoman Diana Sun.
"It is very likely to be an aging infrastructure issue," she said.

Update (2:30 p.m.):: Arlington officials are warning
that residents in the area of Old Glebe Road near Dittmar and North Glebe roads may experience a temporary decrease in water pressure due to the water main break.

An official said that crews are just beginning to start repairs and had no estimate of when the problem would be resolved.

Original post: Old Glebe Road is closed from North Glebe Road to Tazwell Street due to a water main break, according to Arlington County authorities.

The intersection of Dittmar Road at Old Glebe Road is also closed, officials said in an alert. One northbound lane is closed on North Glebe Road., while all southbound lanes remain open.

[Join me for our weekly discussion of traffic and transit at noon. We can talk about the Thanksgiving getaway or any other transportation topic that's on your mind. Use this link if you'd like to submit a question or comment in advance.]

Travelers have sent in some additional suggestions on how to avoid various problems typically encountered in the holiday getaway traffic. On the Commuter page in the Sunday Post, I offered my some alternative routes you could try this week. but here are a couple more.

Dear Dr. Gridlock:
I enjoyed your holiday travel column, but I think that there's a better alternative than the 2nd choice you offer for avoiding the Delaware toll. Most of my extended family lives in lower Bucks County, Pa., which is just north of the city of Philadelphia on I-95. Here's how I get there from the Washington area. I live in Arlington.

People cram a lot of traveling into this week, and I'd like to help make their trips safe and as painless as they can be. For the next three days, we'll talk about specific routes and times as well as general concepts governing a successful trip. Let's start with some basics.

Don't count on the weak economy keeping people off the roads, or the weak weather forecast. There's never much elasticity in the Thanksgiving getaway. People want to do this, just like you. AAA estimates that nearly a million people from the Washington area will be traveling between Wednesday and Sunday. Thousands of them have heard our warnings about avoiding the peak getaway period, from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday. And thousands more know your shortcut.

Thanksgiving construction zones
Transportation departments pull up most of their orange cones for the holiday break. Around here, the Maryland State Highway Administration plans no short-term lane closings from 3 p.m. Tuesday until the Monday after Thanksgiving. The Virginia Department of Transportation will suspend temporary lane closings from noon Wednesday to noon Monday. The longer-term construction barriers, lane narrowings and lane shifts, such as those in place for the Beltway HOT lanes project, remain where they are.

Times to avoid
Generally, the peak of the peak -- the getaway time you'd most like to avoid, if possible -- is noon to 8 p.m. on Wednesday. More and more people are recognizing that and leaving early, so while Tuesday is better than Wednesday, it's not a smooth sail. Also, the earlier you leave this week, the more likely you are to encounter some of the last-minute road construction occurring before the holiday break.

[In our transportation discussion forum, Taken for a Ride, I'm asking for your opinion on what day and what time are the best for making the getaway from the Washington area.]

Virginia bottlenecks
Holiday tradition says you should expect heavy congestion at these places on Wednesday and Sunday:
-- Interstate 95 between Richmond and the Springfield Interchange
-- I-66 eastbound and westbound in Northern Virginia
-- I-81/I-77 interchange near Wytheville
-- I-81 near Lexington to south of Roanoke
-- I-64/I-95 in the Richmond area

Maryland bottlenecks
Expect congestion on Wednesday and Sunday at these points:
-- I-70 through Frederick heading toward Western Maryland
-- I-68 through Cumberland
-- I-95 across the Wilson Bridge
-- Any roads parallel to I-95 between White Marsh and the Delaware line including Routes 1, 7 and 40.
-- All of I-495 in Montgomery County

Hi, Dr. Gridlock:
What up with the Dupont Circle north entrance escalators? Only one of the three has been functional for like a million years (okay, a month and a half).
Travis W. Montgomery
The District

There are always some broken escalators in the Metro system, but the ones I'm getting the most complaints about right now are the unmoving moving staircases at the Q Street NW exit for the Red Line's Dupont Circle Station.

This is a heavily used station on Metro's most heavily used line. Relatively few people want to walk up these escalators, even when they're working.The ride up is quite lengthy, giving passengers plenty of time to scan the lines from Walt Whitman etched on the vertiginous heights at the station's mouth.

So when more than one escalator is out -- as has been the case for over a month -- thousands of people notice.

In October, two of the escalators at this north entrance to the station were involved in accidents in which people needed medical attention. That led to a full safety inspection of both escalators. The inspections resulted in an extensive list of needed repairs, and the the escalators can't be returned to service till the repairs are complete.

You'll see them on Metro's big list of out of service escalators and elevators. They're the ones marked as under a "Safety Work Order" with estimated return to service dates of Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.

Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel said one escalator is behind barricades because some parts have been removed for repair. It also needs to be refitted with a new step chain. The other out-of-service escalator has a similarly long set of repairs awaiting, but it isn't being worked on so Metro can use it as a staircase. That allows the one in-service escalator to keep operating in the up direction.

Even that one was scheduled to have regular repair work done. After the other two are back in service, Taubenkibel said, that one will go out for about a week and a half of maintenance work.

"The probability is strong that escalators will continue to be out of service during December," he said. "We recognize these events have caused a difficult situation for our patrons at Dupont Circle. We are pushing to have this work completed quickly, however the units will be returned to service only when we deem them to be safe."

Those units share all the problems common to Metro escalators: They're long, run all the time the transit system is open, and are exposed to the elements.

This will be a complicated week, because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Look here for some advisories about local travel issues over the next three days. I'll do separate posting with Thanksgiving travel advice. (One thing to remember about traffic rules: Thursday is a holiday. Friday is not.)

Intercounty Connector
Highway crews are scheduled to shift traffic onto the rebuilt Old Columbia Pike Bridge over the Intercounty Connector route from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today. Construction of the overpass, which is north of Fairland Road, began last year. This is part of the Contract "C" work zone on the ICC, from just west of Route 29 to just east of I-95. The contract is 45 percent complete and scheduled to open late 2010 or early 2011.

New pattern at Montrose Parkway
Drivers coming from I-270 on Montrose Road and heading east toward Rockville Pike will encounter a new traffic pattern, because the last segment of Montrose Parkway West between East Jefferson and Old Georgetown Road is open. Motorists will be directed off to the right near Tilden Lane onto Montrose Parkway.

They now will have direct access to a new underpass beneath Rockville Pike and will emerge onto Randolph Road on the other side of the pike. Local traffic heading east on Montrose Road will be able to turn right or left onto East Jefferson Street and Rockville Pike, but will not be allowed to cross the pike to Randolph Road. Drivers on eastbound Montrose Road who want to reach Randolph Road will need to turn right on Old Georgetown Road, then make an immediate left onto the new eastbound Montrose Parkway. Traffic going north on Rockville Pike will need to use a new ramp to turn right onto Randolph Road.

Tysons shuttle
A free midday shuttle bus is starting up today in Tysons Corner. The Tysons Connector buses will run every 10 minutes between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on weekdays. There are two routes (Tysons Connector 1 and 2) serving big employers and businesses along the way, as well as the Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria malls. Here's a route map.

Route 123 work in Tysons
Be very careful traveling south on Chain Bridge Road (Route 123) from Monday morning through noon Wednesday. The right-turn lane to Capital One Drive will be closed so workers on the Dulles Metrorail project can remove poles in the area. Right turns to Capital One Drive will be allowed from the right through lane.

Also, the rail project announced, a short stretch of the right lane will be closed between the Capital Beltway off-ramps and on-ramps during the days. At night, there will be numerous closings near Tysons Boulevard and International Drive, because of utility work. Watch for police out directing traffic.

WASA work on Connecticut
The D.C. Water and Sewer Authority will be doing some utility work this coming week that will result in temporary lane closings along Connecticut Avenue at off-peak hours, but this still could result in traffic delays. So watch for this work Monday through Wednesday between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Traffic on Connecticut will be reduced to one lane in each direction between Calvert and Cathedral streets, and there will be no on-street parking in those blocks. If it's not done during that time, the work will resume on Monday, Nov. 30, after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Beltway lane shift
Traffic on both loops of the Capital Beltway now shifts left approaching the Arlington Boulevard (Route 50) interchange. Beltway lanes in this area will narrow so workers on the HOT lanes project can safely demolish and rebuild parts of the roadway and the bridges over Route 50. This traffic pattern will remain for 12 to 18 months.

No weekend Metro maintenance
Metro's weekend maintenance program will take next weekend off, because of the Thanksgiving holiday. So there will be no planned work on the tracks to slow down your weekend travels. Here again, remember that Friday is not a holiday. The regular fares and parking fees will be in effect.

UPDATE (3:30 p.m.): Totally normal service resumed at about 3 p.m., according to Metro spokeswoman Angela Gates, after smoke on tracks near the Gallery Place station.

A preliminary investigation reveals that a burning insulator caused the smoke, Gates said. No one was injured, and the smoke has completely dissipated.

ORIGINAL (2:27 p.m.): Smoke in a tunnel means no Green or Yellow Lines service between L'Enfant Plaza and Mt. Vernon Square.

Shuttle bus service is being established between the L'Enfant, Archives-Navy Memorial, Gallery Place-Chinatown, and Mt. Vernon Metro stations.

The first report, of smoke at Gallery Place, came in about 1:45 pm, according to Metro spokeswoman Angela Gates.

"We don't know what the cause of the smoke is yet," Gates said.

DC Fire crews are on scene, along with Metro Transit Police.

UPDATE (2:48 p.m.): All lanes have reopened on the Outer Loop, according to Lora Rakowski from the Maryland State Highway Administration. The road is clearing up, but motorists should still expect slight delays from residual backups.

UPDATE (2:10 p.m.): Two left lanes of the Outer Loop, between US 50 and Route 202, have reopened after being closed for nearly three hours. Lora Rakowski from the Maryland State Highway Administration said that two right lanes remain closed as crews conduct their investigation. A detour was lifted, but traffic stretches back to about MD-214, approximately five miles. Expect delays if traveling through the area. Rakowski could not estimate when all lanes will return to service.

ORIGINAL POST (12:38 p.m): All lanes on the Outer Loop of the Beltway between US 50 and Route 202 are closed while police investigate a multi-vehicle collision that ended a police chase about 11:20 a.m., authorities said.

Trooper Jeff Deibel, of the Maryland State Police College Park barracks, said that there was a police pursuit of a vehicle that ended at the scene.
"There's an investigation into the pursuit," he said. "I can't comment on injuries."

Lora Rakowski from the Maryland State Highway Administration said that the crash happened just before US 50.

The road is closed at MD-202. All the vehicles that were on the road between those two points are being turned around, she said. A detour is being set up at 12:30 p.m., and traffic operations officials have arrived at the scene. Exact details of the detour weren't yet available.

The 202 ramp to the Outer Loop is also closed. No lanes are closed on the Inner Loop in that area, but Rakowski said traffic is moving slowly and drivers should expect delays.

She said she could not offer a guess at when the road will reopen.