Underpass of Eternal Darknesss

[sjclaeys]

Perhaps now it is the Underpass of Eternal Gloom?

[Dirt]

Burp.

[Steve O]

@Dirt 100337 wrote:

Burp.

Yes! I chatted with the electrical worker Thursday morning, and he assured me he was planning to finish the job today. And he did!

We may have to rename this spot “Underpass of Retinal Scorching” – the lights are really bright.

They did not fix the old fixtures but replaced them entirely. The new ones are not protected by cages; I’m not sure how susceptible they will be to vandalism (e.g. rocks thrown at them).

[Vicegrip]

@Steve O 100345 wrote:

Yes! I chatted with the electrical worker Thursday morning, and he assured me he was planning to finish the job today. And he did!

We may have to rename this spot “Underpass of Retinal Scorching” – the lights are really bright.

They did not fix the old fixtures but replaced them entirely. The new ones are not protected by cages; I’m not sure how susceptible they will be to vandalism (e.g. rocks thrown at them).

Even caged lights are easy to break. The lights are HID and the color and lumens will even out after a day or so burn time.

Thanks to all that worked to get the lights fixed!

[Steve O]

For the sake of documentation, I received an email from the VDOT supervisor with a long thread. I replied. Here is the entire string of emails (in reverse order; first email is at the bottom):
[HR][/HR]
Hello Donald,

Yes, thank you. Thank you very much. The lights look fantastic. I took the opportunity to chat with a couple of the workers over the last week and was pleased with their friendliness and desire to do a good job.

I assure you that hundreds and hundreds of trail users will benefit from this work.

Thank you again, and have a good Thanksgiving.

Best regards,
Steve

— Donald.Bailey@VDOT.Virginia.gov wrote:
From: “Bailey, Donald A. (VDOT)”
To: “‘Dcunningham@arlingtonva.us'” , “steve@offuttemail.com”
CC: “‘Tvu6@arlingtonva.us'” , “‘Mnguyen@arlingtonva.us'” , “Henderson, William (VDOT)” , “Routt, Jr, David C. (VDOT)” , “Bailey, Donald A. (VDOT)” , “‘Sneupane@arlingtonva.us'” , “Razavi, Aman (VDOT)”
Subject: RE: Three years, no lights
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 16:17:17 +0000

Don & Steve

Update on these under bridge lights;
All of the lights and conduit have been replaced now and appear to light up this area well.
I went out at 5 AM and could see the entire area very well now.

Donald Bailey
VDOT Lighting Power Supervisor
703-334-0210
571-437-6700 Cell

---

Original Message

---

From: Bailey, Donald A. (VDOT)
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2014 9:58 AM
To: ‘Dcunningham@arlingtonva.us’; ‘Sneupane@arlingtonva.us’
Cc: ‘Tvu6@arlingtonva.us’; ‘Mnguyen@arlingtonva.us’; Henderson, William (VDOT); Routt, Jr, David C. (VDOT)
Subject: Re: Three years, no lights

We have to replace all 3 of these lights and the conduit.

Positive thing we have power to site now and we will have 1 light working for now and all the parts are ordered for the rest of wall

Donald

---

Original Message

---

To: Donald Cunningham
To: Santosh Neupane
Cc: Tue Vu
Cc: Minh Nguyen
Subject: Re: Three years, no lights
Sent: Nov 10, 2014 1:59 PM

We found one more problem at the end Kennebec St this might be a power issue mounted on bridge Next to creek Checking it out some more Donald

---

Original Message

---

To: Donald Cunningham
To: Santosh Neupane
Cc: Tue Vu
Cc: Minh Nguyen
Subject: Re: Three years, no lights
Sent: Nov 10, 2014 12:49 PM

We have found one problem at 5705 Fairfax Drive at the Custis Trail Bridge Entrance. The disconnect belongs to Arlington County for trail Lights on a Dominion Pole for this service someone had cut loose the lock and turned off these lights and also have hit the disconnect.
We have cut loose the sharp edges
Of the handle. It is next to sidewalk and we made it safe.
And I turned on power with new fuses. Went to pole 1 now have power Checked the pull box at bridge it has power now.

Hope this helps out

Arlington should replace disconnect Safe at this time needs a lock Installed

Donald Bailey
Lighting Power Supervisor
703 334 0210
571 437 6700

---

Original Message

---

From: Donald Cunningham
To: Santosh Neupane
To: Donald Bailey
Cc: Tue Vu
Cc: Minh Nguyen
Subject: RE: Three years, no lights
Sent: Nov 10, 2014 10:16 AM

Ok, I will send a team to take a look.

Donald Cunningham
Signals Supervisor
Department of Environmental Services
Division of Transportation
4300 S. 29th Street
Arlington, VA 22206
703.228.6655 desk
571.722.8782 mobile
Have a Safe Day!

From: Santosh Neupane
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2014 10:01 AM
To: Bailey, Donald A. (VDOT)
Cc: Donald Cunningham
Subject: RE: Three years, no lights

The trail that runs along I-66 underneath Patrick Henry Dr.
Don may be able to guide you further, if needed. Thanks

Santosh Raj Neupane

Streetlight Systems Engineer
Arlington County | Department of Environmental Services Transportation Engineering & Operations |2100 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 900|Arlington VA 22201| Ph: (703) 228-0778| F: (703) 228-3719

From: Bailey, Donald A. (VDOT) [mailto:Donald.Bailey@VDOT.Virginia.gov]
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2014 9:49 AM
To: Santosh Neupane
Cc: Shahid Abbas; Larry Marcus; Donald Cunningham
Subject: Re: Three years, no lights

Give me the cross streets of these
And I will check this out.

From: Santosh Neupane [mailto:Sneupane@arlingtonva.us]
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2014 08:54 AM
To: Bailey, Donald A. (VDOT)
Cc: Shahid Abbas ; Larry Marcus ; Donald Cunningham
Subject: FW: Three years, no lights

Donald,
Is your team still maintaining these lights? If yes, can you please have your staff look at it and let me know the schedule?

Thanks

Santosh Raj Neupane

Streetlight Systems Engineer
Arlington County | Department of Environmental Services Transportation Engineering & Operations |2100 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 900|Arlington VA 22201| Ph: (703) 228-0778| F: (703) 228-3719

From: Steve Offutt [mailto:steve@offuttemail.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2014 10:21 AM
To: Larry Marcus; David Goodman
Subject: Three years, no lights

Hello Larry,

We met briefly this summer at the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting. I appreciate your taking interest in improving bicycling in the county; thank you.

I have on numerous occasions reported that the lights under I-66 near BonAir park have been out since October of 2011. It has been also reported in the Arlington App since early this year. Previously, this issue seemed to be falling in the cracks between parks and streets. My two or three conversations with Santosh were fairly fruitless, as he either suggested it was someone else’s responsibility or made excuses for why there was nothing that could be done.
There is more history about this issue on the Forum at: http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?6765-Underpass-of-Eternal-Darknesss
I recommend you read the entire thread to get an understanding of the complete history.

It is now the 3-year anniversary of what is dubbed “The Underpass of Eternal Darkness.” With the ending of Daylight Saving Time, that underpass is pitch black starting early in the evening (for the 4th straight winter). Given that it is used by scores of bicycle commuters and is also a popular running trail, the darkness and the curve make it an extremely uncomfortable place to be for all users when it is dark.

The Arlington App has listed this issue as “In Progress” for more than six monnths.

Any information you can provide would be very helpful.

Thank you very much for your attention to this matter.

Kind regards,
Steve Offutt
703-283-4326

[dasgeh]

Does anyone know the status of the lights in the Shirlington underpass? It would be extremely helpful for me to know before 8am tomorrow morning.

[Arlingtonrider]

Thanks for asking about this. I don’t think any of the Shirlington underpass lights have been on for at least a few months. I hope they are still working on getting that fixed.

[KLizotte]

The Custis underpass of eternal darkness was dark both times I went thru on Sat and Sun this weekend. I went thru between 4:00 and 4:30 pm.

[Arlingtonrider]

KLizotte – Could you edit your post above to better reflect which underpass you are talking about? The Shirlington one or the one on the Custis?

[lordofthemark]

@dasgeh 100614 wrote:

Does anyone know the status of the lights in the Shirlington underpass? It would be extremely helpful for me to know before 8am tomorrow morning.

They were out when I passed this AM.

The only underpass lights on the 4MRT between Shirlington and the MVT that work, that I am aware of, are at the MVT end (I do not know off the top of my head which of the multiple bridges there)

[baiskeli]

There are lights in the Shirlington underpass?

[KLizotte]

@Arlingtonrider 100618 wrote:

KLizotte – Could you edit your post above to better reflect which underpass you are talking about? The Shirlington one or the one on the Custis?

Done. Custis!

[Steve O]

@KLizotte 100616 wrote:

The Custis underpass of eternal darkness was dark both times I went thru on Sat and Sun this weekend. I went thru between 4:00 and 4:30 pm.

Hmm. I wonder if they are on a timer rather than a sensor. Was it dark?

[sjclaeys]

The lights for the Custis underpass were on tonight at 6:30.

[baiskeli]

@dasgeh 100614 wrote:

Does anyone know the status of the lights in the Shirlington underpass? It would be extremely helpful for me to know before 8am tomorrow morning.

I just happened to ride through there tonight. At about 8:30 pm, there were absolutely no lights on in the Shirlington underpass under 395. Same for the underpass just to the east under Glebe – no lights on.

I don’t think I have ever seen lights on in either one. I didn’t know they had lights.

Hope you see this post before tomorrow morning.

[Author]

Posts