South Lee Street in Old Town will be closed this afternoon starting around 4:30 for one of the area’s most legendary Halloween events.

Every year, South Lee Street shuts down for a large Halloween event that runs from the 100 to 600 blocks.

“The closures are scheduled to begin on Monday, October 31, 2022, at 4:30 p.m. with the 100-600 blocks of South Lee Street between King and Gibbon Streets closing,” the Alexandria Police Department said in a release. “The streets are slated to be reopened by 8 p.m.”

Halloween on South Lee Street is one of the city’s many Halloween traditions, along with the Halloween Parade in Del Ray.

The release said officers will be directing traffic on the street between Gibbon and Green Streets. Normal traffic is expected to resume at 8 p.m.

“The public can expect an increased police presence in the area, and drivers are asked to remain alert,” the alert said. “Please note there is a possibility of other road closures that are not mentioned which would take place as an increased safety measure.”

If your car is towed for being parked illegally on the street, the release said to call the Department of Emergency & Customer Communications at 703 746 4444.

Some more closures are headed to Duke Street next week courtesy of the I-395 Bridge Rehabilitation project.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) said the street will have periodic closures from Sunday, Aug. 7 to Wednesday, Aug. 17.

According to VDOT:

• Eastbound Duke Street (Route 236) will be closed at I-395 from 11 p.m. Sunday night Aug. 7 to 11 p.m. Wednesday night, Aug. 10
• Westbound Duke Street will be closed from 11 p.m. Sunday night, Aug. 14 to 11 p.m. Wednesday night, Aug. 17

The closures allow VDOT to work on pavement repairs on Duke Street as part of the bridge rehabilitation project.

“The pavement work is part of the project to rehabilitate the Duke Street bridge over I-395,” VDOT said in the release. “The improvements will extend the overall life of the bridge and improve safety for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians, and include replacing the concrete bridge deck and beams, upgrading the westbound sidewalk to a shared-use path, and widening the eastbound sidewalk. The project is scheduled for completion in winter 2023/24.”

All interchange ramps will remain open during the eastbound closure, but the northbound I-395 ramp to westbound Duke Street and the ramp from westbound Duke Street to southbound I-395 will be closed.

According to the release:

During the multi-day closures, traffic will be detoured via the following routes:

• Eastbound Duke Street: Southbound I-395, eastbound Edsall Road (Route 648, Exit 2A) and northbound I-395 back to eastbound Duke Street
• Westbound Duke Street: Northbound I-395, westbound Seminary Road (Exit 4) and southbound I-395 back to westbound Duke Street

VDOT said drivers on Duke Strete should expect delays and seek alternate routes.

After road work on I-395 was rescheduled from this weekend, the highway will see closures starting tonight.

The Virginia Department of Transportation said several lanes of I-395 between Edsall Road and Duke Street are rescheduled to close between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. tonight through Thursday night.

Tonight and tomorrow night, it’s two northbound lanes and three southbound lanes.

“The two right northbound I-395 general purpose lanes between Edsall Road and Duke Street and the three left southbound I-395 general purpose lanes between Seminary Road and Duke Street will be closed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night,” VDOT said in a release, “with full stoppages of up to 20 minutes each in both directions occurring between midnight and 4 a.m. each night.”

On Wednesday it will be three lanes on alternating sides of the northbound side of the road, then the same for the southbound side on Thursday.

“The work is part of the project to rehabilitate the Duke Street bridge over I-395,” VDOT said in the release. “The improvements will extend the overall life of the bridge and improve safety for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians, and include replacing the concrete bridge deck and beams, upgrading the westbound sidewalk to a shared-use path, and widening the eastbound sidewalk. The project is scheduled for completion in winter 2023/24.”

Image via Google Maps

Mayor Asks Metro for Support During Closure — “Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson urged Metro in a Thursday letter to commit to city rail and bus service amid an announcement of extended closures, particularly on the transit agency’s Yellow Line.” [WTOP]

West Glebe Road Bridge Lane Closed — “Engineers have identified a structural issue with a bridge connecting Arlington County and Alexandria, prompting a lane closure.” [Patch]

Art Installation Opens at Waterfront Park — “The ‘I Love You’ art installation opened Friday morning at Waterfront Park, 1A Prince Street.” [Patch]

It’s Monday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 36 and low of 28. Sunrise at 7:00 am and sunset at 7:29 pm. [Weather.gov]

A barricade and shots-fired situation at Woods Place is still ongoing one day after it allegedly started with a nearby road-rage incident.

Police said the man inside the house has fired at police outside the building, but police have not returned fire:

The incident started as a call for service for shots fired during a road-rage incident. Through investigations, APD confirmed the incident, and located the suspect at his home in the 1000 block of Woods Place. Officers attempted to apprehend the suspect around 12 p.m. Tuesday, November 23. The suspect refused to surrender and barricaded himself in the home. During the stand-off, the suspect shot several rounds at officers. No officers have discharged their weapon in this incident.

The incident has closed Quaker Lane between Braddock Road and Bishop Lane along with Woods Avenue and Woods Lane in the small neighborhood where the standoff is occurring.

Alexandria City High School’s King Street campus, which abuts the house where the barricade situation is occurring, has also closed today — though the impact of this is minimal given that students are out on Thanksgiving break. James Parker, director of athletics and student activities, tweeted a notice that all athletics activities at the school are canceled for today.

N Quaker Lane remains CLOSED btwn Braddock Rd and Janneys Lane due to police activity. Please avoid. #Alexandria #VaTraffic #DCTraffic https://t.co/bXcupeEzGM

— WTOP Traffic (@WTOPtraffic) November 24, 2021

COACHES AND ATHLETES ALL PRACTICES AND EVENTS AT ACHS KING STREET CAMPUS ARE CANCELED FOR TODAY. NO ONE IS ALLOWED ON CAMPUS TODAY! @TCWGBB @DiveTcw @ACHSTitans @ACTitansSwim pic.twitter.com/69KXlPtmd3

— James Parker (@TheCityAD) November 24, 2021

The West Glebe Road Bridge connecting Arlington and Alexandria is dropping down to one lane in each direction after an inspection found deterioration under the bridge’s sidewalk.

According to a press release from Arlington County, one northbound lane and one southbound lane will be open, with one northbound lane being converted into a pedestrian and bicycle path after the closure of the west sidewalk.

“A recent inspection revealed additional deterioration under the west sidewalk and the temporary walking path, which necessitated the sidewalk being closed in this area,” the County said.

In April, the County Board approved a $9.89 million contract — funded jointly by Alexandria and Arlington — for a bridge replacement. Construction is expected to start next summer. The County said the closures will remain in place until the bridge replacement is completed.

The County noted that this isn’t the first time travel capacity on the bridge has been reduced.

“The routine inspection of the bridge in fall 2018 uncovered deterioration that prompted a vehicle weight restriction of 5 tons and closure of the sidewalks in both directions,” the County said. “The southbound lane across the bridge was converted for the exclusive use of people walking and biking.”

Photo (1) via Google Maps, photo (2) via Arlington County

Diagonal Road, the very literally named road between Duke Street and King Street near the King Street Metro station, will be closed this week during working hours to through traffic for milling and repaving.

“Work will be performed between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,” the city said in a press release. “During this time Diagonal Road will be closed to through traffic. However, access to parking garages and the Embassy Suites Hotel will be maintained from Duke Street only.”

Pedestrians will still be able to access the road on the east sidewalk. Bus traffic is only permitted on the small section that connects the King Street Metro station bus loop to Duke Street. The Diagonal Road repaving is the latest in a series of repavings across Old Town.

“City staff will be onsite managing the project and roads will fully reopen to traffic at the end of each shift,” the city said. “The City recognizes the inconveniences this road closure may cause. Thank you for your patience and support as we work to improve the City’s infrastructure.”

A block of Alexandria that’s seen sudden repairs in recent years is undergoing something a little more-planned over the next week.

Maintenance on the rail bridge traveling over King Street near the eponymous Metro station will close the underpass tonight from 10 p.m.-5 a.m. tomorrow. It will also be closed the same times from Tuesday, Aug. 17, to Wednesday, Aug. 25. The underpass will be closed for both vehicle and pedestrian/cyclist traffic.

If you’ve seen it before, the nightly bridge work has been going on since last Friday (Aug. 6).

TRAFFIC: Due to needed bridge maintenance work, the King St. underpass at the CSX/METRO bridge will be closed nightly between the hours of 10PM and 5AM Friday, Aug. 6 – Wed. Aug. 11 and Tues. Aug 17 – Wed. Aug 25. Detours in place. Please avoid the area during these closures. pic.twitter.com/taM4VGBmNb

— Alexandria T&ES (@AlexandriaVATES) August 6, 2021

Via Google Maps

What an absorbing week in Alexandria.

Just as the ball gets rolling with reopening and loosened restrictions, the pandemic rears its ugly head. With coronavirus transmission levels climbing, Alexandria is once again recommending that residents go back to wearing face masks indoors.

Our weekly poll found that 37% of respondents (337 votes) don’t plan to wear masks indoors again unless required, 32% (291 votes) never stopped wearing masks and plan to continue, and 30% (275 votes) stopped wearing masks indoors and plan to start again.

In the meantime, Three Dog Night, Tanya Tucker, and more are scheduled to play at the Birchmere next month, and the Little Theatre of Alexandria has gone back to in-person performances with its latest farce, Neil Simon’s Rumors. The city’s annual sidewalk sale is also on track to be largest ever, with participation from more than 70 local boutiques on the pedestrian-only blocks between 700 and 1100 King Street.

Turning toward the Olympics, Alexandria boxer Troy Isley won his first contest earlier this week, but lost his second match in a close split decision on Thursday night. Next week, Alexandria City High School will host a watch party for alumnus star sprinter Noah Lyles, who is the favorite to win the gold medal in the 200 meter race.

Important stories

• Woman killed walking on Interstate 495 in Alexandria on Sunday morning
• ACPS to decide next week whether to require face masks when school restarts
• Newcomer Founders Bank eyes expansion to Alexandria
• Torpedo Factory Art Center goes back to requiring masks indoors
• Carjacking suspect suffers medical emergency while getting booked into Alexandria jail
• Rep. Beyer: Calls to defund police ‘one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard’
• GoFundMe launched for Will Nichols, retiring manager of St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub in Del Ray
• Report details life of Black Alexandrians post-Civil War in home slated for redevelopment
• Soul food brings flavor to multi-sensory African American walking tour in Old Town
• Alexandria exhibition for vintage and bizarre cars returns this fall

Top stories

1. Alexandria car dealership receptionist busted for alleged credit card fraud
2. One year of lane closures in Potomac Yard starts today
3. Man arrested after armed carjacking in West End
4. BREAKING: Potomac Yard Metro opening pushed back to September 2022
5. New Potomac Yard luxury condo community sells 30% of properties before construction starts
6. Residents protest against conditions at West End apartment complex
7. Local Democrat challenges Rep. Don Beyer in 8th District Primary
8. Cigar and vape shop to open on Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray
9. EXCLUSIVE: Halal slaughterhouse opens, gives away free chickens for first two days in business
10. Without School Resource Officers, Superintendent wants more private security inside and police patrolling outside
11. Poll: Do you plan on wearing a mask indoors again?

Have a safe weekend!

(Update at 10:30 a.m. Blue and White Carryout is still open. The tweet from a local news outlet was incorrect.)

City Council Rescinds Vote on Braddock West Development — “The matter will be taken up again for public hearing and vote on May 15, but a pending lawsuit by an Alexandria resident may delay a final decision.” [Alexandria Living]

West End Harris Teeter opening early this summer — “The new store, 62,000 square feet in size, will be located at West Alex, the new development that also includes Array, an apartment building and the Silver Diner restaurant that opened on the corner of King and N. Beauregard streets.” [Alexandria Living]

Southbound King Street exit on Interstate 395 closed for 2 weeks — “Drivers along King Street (Route 7) in Alexandria can expect a new temporary traffic pattern at I-395 beginning Monday morning, May 3, weather permitting, for work as part of the rehabilitation of the King Street Bridge over I-395, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.” [Zebra]

Today’s weather — “Showers early then scattered thunderstorms developing later in the day. High 73F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%… Scattered thunderstorms in the evening. Partly cloudy skies overnight. Low around 65F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.” [Weather.com]

New job: Bilingual medical assistant — “Functions as a member of a program team by performing and documenting results of selected tests and measurements, maintaining adequately supplied workstations, maintaining a clean work environment, and promoting timely and efficient patient flow through the clinic. Has primary responsibility for the collection, processing, and recording of laboratory testing. Gives immunizations and other injectable medications under the supervision of the physician, nurse practitioner or registered nurse. Assists with patient treatments during clinical sessions.” [Indeed]