Lights out! in the Shirlington connector tunnel – who to contact?

[dbb]

Just rode through the tunnel. All lights are operational! Covers are on all lights.

Thanks to all who contributed to this achievement.

Dana

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[consularrider]

But it’s still pretty dark under there, so be careful. We almost had a headon collision early this afternoon as one rider insisted on passing a large line of riders heading east while there were both pedestrians and cyclists coming west.

[JustinW]

Hey kids,

Something is up. Either the lights in this tunnel / underpass are on a daylight-sensing timer thingie, or they are *all out again*. Urghh. Please tell me it is the former. If the latter, time to ring VDOT again and beg for their intervention….

[dbb]

I just logged the following request on the VDOT website

http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/citizen.asp

“The lights in the ped/bike trail along Four Mile Run are inoperative. Although they should operate 24 hrs per day for tunnel safety, they were not operating today. This is a safety hazard for pedestrians using the route.

Some lights have been damaged and need to be repaired as well.”

You can also call VDOT as their site provides:

“Report a Road Problem
Customer Service Center: 800-FOR-ROAD (800-367-7623)
Call VDOT’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-367-7623 around the clock. TTY users can call 711.
• Report all unsafe and hazardous road conditions
• Report work requests for state-maintained roads
• Other VDOT questions”

Good luck.

Given the length of the tunnel under 395, those lights should operate 24/7. I rode through there about 1 pm this afternoon and it was pitch black in the tunnel.

[Tim Kelley]

Has anyone been back through since Saturday? I’m looking for confirmation that these are still out.

[consularrider]

I rode through at 7:30 this morning and no lights were on.

[dbb]

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Just got a reply from VDOT..

“Thank you for contacting VDOT’s Customer Service Center. This location has been submitted to our Lighting Department; reference number 1871149. Should you have any additional concerns or questions, please let us know.”

I rode over to the tunnel on the way home to check it out. All lights were dark. Thumbnail photos are from east to west and show every light in the tunnel (first five in this post)

[dbb]

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The next five lights in the Four Mile Run tunnel under 395

[DismalScientist]

This is what happens when you connect lights in a series.:rolleyes:

[dbb]

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Final batch of photos (ending on the west side of I-395)

Note the varying condition of the fixtures and the use of duct tape.

[JustinW]

Doubt that all are controlled / connected to one switch or circuit, but the lights are out further east along the trail (in underpasses) as well….

Or, are they all controlled by that high tech device, the Clapper? I should have tested…

[dbb]

Based on my past life as a facilities engineer, I’d expect they are all on a common circuit. The lights are connected with a single piece of EMT (electrical metallic tubing, AKA conduit) that runs from the eastern side of the tunnel out to some (yet undetermined) connection box with the likely switch (photocell or timer) and power source. One of the attached photos shows the conduit emerging from the eastern portal to the tunnel.

The lights were/are high pressure sodium, and they are generally pretty efficient. If the bulbs are just 100W (a reasonable assumption), the circuit would only pull 1100 watts. I could (caveat – I am not an electrician but can short out your TV) do that with a #10 wire fairly easily (accounting for the losses of the wire length).

Given the potential for damage to the light fixtures, it seems prudent to consider locating the fixtures somewhere where they were less accessible to potential vandals. There are some alternative approaches down Four Mile Run near the intersection with the MVT that could inform the discussion.

All that said, I think the rider community might want to occasionally ride over to the bridges over the trail with a broom that could brush off the spider webs and other crud from the lights. The photo shows one of the lights under Glebe that might benefit from such a cleaning.

Dana

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[JustinW]

Huzzah – the lights in the underpass are on again! Thanks for the reporting of the issue, DBB – looks like you have the touch.

Interestingly, or really, sadly, 3 of the 11 lights are out at this point, with at least one missing its cover and possibly vandalized (I did not slow down to look). I wonder if there are any more resilient light fixtures that could be used there.

[dbb]

@JustinW 14458 wrote:

Thanks for the reporting of the issue, DBB – looks like you have the touch.

Having the touch with electrical stuff often turns out badly!

It looks like the bridge belongs to VDOT but Arlington owns/maintains/pays the bill on the lights. That said, Arlington has to ask permission from VDOT to drill into the concrete bridge abutment.

[JustinW]

Tim or others,

The now infamous I-395 underpass is now lit by about 5 of the 11 lights present. VDOT now says that they have no control over that, and that Arlington is in charge of the lighting fixes.

Does anyone know who in Arlington (a) is actually responsible for these lights, and (b) will admit to being responsible? I’m happy to contact whoever as long as I know who whoever should be.

(And no, I won’t mention “The Arlington Loop” when submitting a lights out report — too much controversy….)

[Author]

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