<bt>Arlington gained a small victory in the state capitol this month for local commuters. The state's Department of Transportation (VDOT) will create a new acceleration lane on the exit leading off the Washington Boulevard to Columbia Pike bridge.
"The community in that part of the county well knows the deficiency of that bridge," said Del. Al Eisenberg (D-47). "There's nothing good to be said about the engineering of that facility."
The bridge in question is one many in the area known to be dangerous.
"There's a considerable amount of traffic there during the day and it's particularly dangerous for anyone who is coming off the bridge and trying to change lanes," said Ernest Butler, co-president of the Penrose Civic Association in the nearby Penrose neighborhood. "A car could easily get stuck out there or someone who doesn't know that road could easily get hurt."
EVERY MEMBER of Arlington's delegation to Richmond pushed to widen the lane, giving motorists coming off the bridge at the stop sign a better chance to see cars coming from behind them as they try to merge into traffic. As it is now, the arch of the bridge means eastbound drivers entering Washington Boulevard and heading towards Clarendon can only see on-coming traffic a few seconds before it is right on top of them. And the stop sign means there's precious little time to accelerate. The new 300-foot lane, Eisenberg said, is only a short-term solution. The bridge needs to be replaced but the funding to do that just isn't there yet and it could be 8 or 9 years before the bureaucracy of the state government gets around to doing the job. In the mean time, Eisenberg hopes the improvement will reduce traffic accidents on the exit lane.
From 1992 to 2002, according to VDOT records, the exit has seen 252 accidents resulting in 157 injuries. On a national scale used by engineers, Eisenberg said, the bridge is rated one of the worst in the United States, scoring 2 points out of 100 for safety and design.
THE BRIDGE is so dangerous that many trucks now have to be diverted off the bridge because it is too weak. That causes more problems, said Eisenberg, because those trucks get routed through suburban neighborhoods, creating more traffic. Estimates from VDOT, he added, state it will cost about $20 million to replace the dilapidated structure. Money for engineering and design is already available.
"It's almost impossible to easily get into the main path of travel from the exit," said Eisenberg. "You're constantly looking over your left shoulder to make sure you won't hit somebody coming from behind you and as you're sitting there, you could get rear-ended."
Construction on the new lane, Eisenberg said, is set to start next year. Along with more space to accelerate, Arlington's lawmakers also won a new paint job for the lines marking the median on Washington Boulevard near the exit. Right now, Eisenberg said, that paint is in desperate need of repair because some drivers can't tell where their lane ends and the next begins.