Underpass of Eternal Darknesss

[dasgeh]

@baiskeli 100665 wrote:

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.

Thanks for the reports. I will use this tomorrow morning.

[Arlingtonrider]

Dasgeh, please don’t sign off yet. I have one more thing for you! Will edit this to add it.

Darn – too late, but just in case you see this later – on both sides of the Shirlington Road crossing are new “beg” lights (?) that, when a cyclist or pedestrian pushes a button, light up a small sign on a pole on that side of the street that says “Crosswalk.” The problem is that because of the small size of the crosswalk signs and the bright lights of the gas station behind them, the signs are barely noticeable. Previously, the buttons triggered bright flashing lights. Would it be possible to add some flashing lights back in?

Another issue is that the beg button lights only work for the nearest two lanes of traffic, so you’re on your own once you get to the little median strip. It would be great if a way could be found to make them visible to the cars going in both directions so that they help in getting all the way across the road.

Thanks!

[dasgeh]

@Arlingtonrider 100670 wrote:

Dasgeh, please don’t sign off yet. I have one more thing for you! Will edit this to add it.

I hear ya.

FYI, for those of us who use the phone app, we can get notifications when someone quotes out posts. So if you want to get someone’s attention, quote one of their posts.

[Arlingtonrider]

Thanks. Great to know! Do you use the tapatalk app?

[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.

To confirm

last night the lights were off on the Shirlington underpass, and also the Glebe underpass. The only light that was on, on the entire 4MRT from MVT to Shirlington, was on the underpass under the SB side of Rte 1 (the west most of the bridges there)

[lordofthemark]

@Arlingtonrider 100670 wrote:

Dasgeh, please don’t sign off yet. I have one more thing for you! Will edit this to add it.

Darn – too late, but just in case you see this later – on both sides of the Shirlington Road crossing are new “beg” lights (?) that, when a cyclist or pedestrian pushes a button, light up a small sign on a pole on that side of the street that says “Crosswalk.” The problem is that because of the small size of the crosswalk signs and the bright lights of the gas station behind them, the signs are barely noticeable. Previously, the buttons triggered bright flashing lights. Would it be possible to add some flashing lights back in?

Another issue is that the beg button lights only work for the nearest two lanes of traffic, so you’re on your own once you get to the little median strip. It would be great if a way could be found to make them visible to the cars going in both directions so that they help in getting all the way across the road.

Thanks!

I did not even know the beg lights there worked at all. They are not very visible.

[dasgeh]

Good news: the powers that be are already working on the shirlington underpasses. Lots of issues but they’re working on them.

I also passed along the comment about the beg button.

Thanks all!
@Arlingtonrider 100684 wrote:

Thanks. Great to know! Do you use the tapatalk app?

Yes.

[Steve O]

The other place where the Custis goes under I-66 is by Lyon Village at the bottom of the switchback. If you have been observant this week, you will have noticed that the second light fixture (the western one) is now working. Like with the UoED, it had been out for years.

This was another relatively positive experience working with VDOT. I reported it through the my VDOT report a problem site. My first effort failed, but it was not ignored. I actually received a call within a day or two from the VDOT lighting contractor asking for clarification about the exact location. He called the next day and left a message that he had fixed it, but evidently he got the wrong place or didn’t do it right, because it was still out.

My second try resulted in a call from Mike Sinclair of VDOT, and we had a long discussion about the various lights. He confirmed that the lights on the trail overpasses (e.g. Glebe Road exit ramp, Lee Highway at top of switchback) are Arlington’s responsibility, but the lights attached to I-66 are VDOT’s. He told me he would follow up with Arlington on making sure the lights under their jurisdiction are attended to, which impressed me. Unfortunately, the light at the Underpass of Perpetual Gloom remained unfixed.

So I reported it one more time. I again got a call within 24 hours, this time from Kim, who also asked me for the exact location, which I told him. The next day I was riding in late morning, and the light was on! I saw a couple of workers playing with wires on the other side of the fence. I went over and asked it they had fixed it. They said no, but they had just seen the repairman there. I then noticed his truck in the parking lot by CVS. We chatted for a bit, and I thanked him for making the repair. He told me he was going to recommend the fixtures be replaced entirely, because they appeared to be as old as the bridge.

This is about the 4th time I have reported something through that site, and I have gotten a call from VDOT or their contractor in every single case. VDOT’s responsiveness has been quite positive.

On the other hand, it’s disappointing that Arlington has not fixed the lights that they are responsible for in years and years and years. I have reported them (more than once) through the Arlington app.

[KLizotte]

Thanks Steve O for all of your hard work on pursuing this issue! Whew!

[Author]

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