Hello Pike Friends -

The end is in sight!

As you'll notice by driving through the intersection, work is finishing up.  
Omni Construction is finishing the final median.  Once that work is 
completed next week, we have scheduled final milling and paving of the 
intersection.  Assuming no significant rain delays, the work can all be 
completed by the end of next week.  However, we are watching the weather 
forecast very closely.  The paving must be done in dry weather, so the 
completion date could be delayed slightly based on weather.  Next week, 
staff will also coordinate with our Traffic Engineering staff to activate 
the turn signals and final timing.

Also, I received a call this morning from a citizen who noticed that 
northbound Glebe Road traffic was trying to turn left into the bank using 
the southbound left turn lane.  Our construction manager is having "No Turn" 
signs installed to prevent this from happening.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  I'll send 
an update next week to let you know the additional progress.

Thank you -

Michelle Ferguson
Assistant County Manager
Interim Director of Engineering
  & Capital Projects
2100 Clarendon Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 228-3911
mferguson@arlingtonva.us

Dear Pike Friends:

As you know, the County's contractor is continuing construction at the 
intersection.  I've heard from several of you (and experienced myself) the 
traffic issues in the area as we anxiously await the completion of this 
critical project.  In order to facilitate the construction, the county's 
contractor will be doing some night time construction at the three road 
crossings which will require the closure of a lane in each direction.  Doing 
the work during the daytime from 9:30 to 3:30 will be very disruptive to 
traffic in both corridors and take possibly twice as long to complete. The 
night time work will progress much quicker than the day time work due to 
longer work hours outside of the restricted
time period and be less disruptive to traffic flow and bus service. The 
contractor intends to start work February 2nd working from 7:30 pm to 5:30 
am, with a projected end date of April 20.

** Please note - The County's Noise Ordinance allows night work as long as 
the noise is kept within the maximum allowable noise levels.  Staff will 
work closely with the contractor to ensure compliance with the noise 
ordinance.

The majority of the work that remains to be done is located adjacent to the 
intersection of Columbia Pike and Glebe with the exception of a short length 
across Columbia Pike at S. Lincoln Street.

*	Columbia Pike @ S. Lincoln Street - About 50 feet of ductbank needs to be 
constructed across Columbia Pike opposite the intersection with S. Lincoln 
Street. This section should be able to be completed in a week.
*	Glebe Road, south of Columbia Pike - About a 110-foot section of ductbank 
turning the corner of Columbia Pike to the transition pole on Glebe Road and 
a crossing of Glebe Road about 75 feet in length to the south.
*	Columbia Pike @ South Glebe Road - About a 110-foot section of ductbank 
turning the corner of Glebe Road and crossing Columbia Pike.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me 
or the construction manager Mark Kelani at 228-3589.

Thank you -

Michelle (Mendoza) Ferguson
Assistant County Manager
2100 Clarendon Blvd. Ste. 302
Arlington, Virginia  22201
(703) 228-3911
fax: (703) 228-3295
mferguson@arlingtonva.us

Based on a request from the contractor on Columbia Pike, for the next three to four weeks, the eastbound left lane at Columbia Pike & Glebe will be eliminated from 9:15am-4:00pm. The left turn will be available during the am/pm peak travel period.

Staff is preparing the variable message board to be placed on Columbia Pike notifying the motorists of this upcoming change. We would like to place the variable message on site as early as tomorrow afternoon.

Please forward this information as appropriate. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or Dave Robinson for more details.

Yesterday afternoon the County opened bids for the streetscape and turn-lane construction for the Columbia Pike & Glebe intersection. Thanks to quick staff work, this construction contract will be before the County Board tomorrow for approval. Since VDOT will actually be funding this portion of the construction, the contract will be forwarded to VDOT for final authorization after County Board approval.

All other aspects of the project remain on schedule.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

# # #

Neighbors, I am forwarding the most recent left turn report I received from Arlington County in early January. Since that time, I've attended a meeting with county officials on the project. Adam Croswell, of Arlington Heights, also attended. We received an updated timetable, which now places construction optimistically in fall of 2003. We also reviewed the design of the new intersection. The design will reconfigure the existing left turn lanes somewhat and add a left turn west on Columbia Pike. The new design will not allow left turns from Glebe Road northbound into the bank parking lot, but will allow left turns into Westmont Shopping Center from southbound Glebe. Turning left from westbound Columbia Pike into the Exxon station will also not be permitted.

As John Mausert Mooney is now director of environmental services, the new county contact on the process is Assistant County Manager Michelle Ferguson. Her biweekly reports should begin very soon.

Rebecca Krafft
Douglas Park

#  #  #

Jan. 6, 2003

Dear Pike Friends,

Michelle Mendoza asked me to give you this report during her absence from 
the office.

Based on my conversations today with DPW and with the County Real Estate 
Office, there are still 4 ROW acquisitions--Cars DB1, Stein, Westmont, and 
Exxon--where additional documents are necessary to proceed to settlement and 
recordation; in the case of Exxon, there is still one easement document to 
be signed.  We cannot send designs to VDOT for their review until we certify 
that all ROW are fully
acquired and recorded.

Utility relocation is continuing, with Worldcom scheduled for their move on 
January 6th.

Sincerely



John Mausert-Mooney, Director
Department of Environmental Services
Arlington County
2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 801
Arlington, VA  22201
(703)228-3602 (phone)
(703)228-7134 (fax)
jmausert-mooney@co.arlington.va.us

#  #  #



>>>"Rebecca Krafft"  01/06/03 12:54PM >>>
John,

Where does the neverending saga of loose ends end? When you met with Pike 
leaders in December 2001, you hoped to conclude the ROW acquisition process 
by March 2002. Are you working from a complete list now? Several previous 
reports stipulated that Cars DB1 was the last item.  I get the feeling that 
progress is so slow, that the requirements of the project change by the time 
you actually complete a step. Remember, you advocated against condemnation 
in December 2001, explaining that it would take *up to six months.*  This is 
a very sorry state of affairs.

Did you know that a car using Monroe Street as a cut-through lost control 
and ran into a *house* at the corner of S. 14th and Monroe Street in October 
2002?? The absence of a westbound left-turn lane is a continuing threat in 
our neighborhood.

Rebecca Krafft


#  #  #

Rebecca,

I share your deep frustration with the additional new details that keep 
popping up on this project.  Some are predictable complications in bringing 
any commercial property-acquisition to closing, even after the property 
rights have been acquired; others have surprised me as much as you.

By copy of this to Sam Kem, I am asking DPW whether there are any additional 
safety measures that can be introduced to prevent further accidents like the 
one at 14th and Monroe.

John

John Mausert-Mooney, Director
Department of Environmental Services
Arlington County
2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 801
Arlington, VA  22201
(703)228-3602 (phone)
(703)228-7134 (fax)
jmausert-mooney@co.arlington.va.us

At a meeting on Nov. 30, Assistant County Manager John Mausert-Mooney gave May 2003 as the projected completion date of the left turn lanes at Columbia Pike and Glebe Road. In the short term, the county may consider allowing left turns at the intersection at certain times of day. John has been designated as the county's point of contact on this project, and he will be issuing status reports every two weeks. Here is the first report, dated 12/14/01.

12/14/01

Dear Pike Friends,

Here is the first two-week report on the Columbia Pike/Glebe Road Left-Turn Lane project.

1. CORRECTION/CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS INFORMATION. In our meeting two weeks ago, I said I thought the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB), which must approve this project's construction contract, met only once a quarter but that I'd double check. In fact, it meets monthly (3rd Thursday); however, it requires materials to be submitted to the CTB through VDOT 2 weeks prior to the meeting at which an item will be considered.

2. As I said in our meeting, the actual undergrounding of utilities (Verizon, Dominion Virginia Power, and cable) on Columbia Pike will follow the temporary utilities relocation required by this left-turn project, even though the left-turn project will lay the conduit for that undergrounding. The utility companies will wait to pull underground cable and remove overhead lines and poles until a second County project (streetscape and conduit east and west of Glebe) is completed, so that the cable-pulling can be done all at once. We will work to minimize the time between the left-turn and undergrounding projects as much as possible.

3. RIGHT OF WAY (ROW) AND EASEMENT ACQUISITION. This project requires ROW and easements from 7 properties, one of which (3200 Columbia Pike, Brown Pontiac) has already been obtained. Acquisition of ROW from the property owners has been the most difficult aspect of the project. Here's progress made in the last two weeks:

a. 902 S. Glebe. The easements needed are for Dominion's permanent guy wires, since Dominion had been unable to get the easements. This week we received revised Dominion plats and easement agreements and are preparing a cover letter to send to the owner, requesting his signature. Because these are not easements running to the County, no County Board action is required. b. 904 S. Glebe. The easements needed are for Dominion (permanent guy wires), which had been unable to get them. This week we received revised plats and easement agreements and are preparing a cover letter to send to owner, requesting his signature. We are dealing here with an absentee landlord who has only a P.O. box. Internet searches have yielded no street address. We always leave copies with tenants, too. We are exploring other avenues to reach the owner expeditiously. No County Board action is required.

c. 3233 Columbia Pike (Westmont Shopping Center). We need easements for Dominion (temporary pole easement and permanent undergrounding easement) and for Arlington County (permanent street easement, temporary construction easement, and bus shelter easement) Again, this week we received revised plats and easement agreements from Dominion. Those agreements and the County's agreements are being reviewed for adequacy, given the multiple-tenancy on this property. County Board action to accept the easements may be required on the County's easements.

d. 1001 S. Glebe (Exxon). We need a small permanent sidewalk easement and a temporary construction easement for the County, as well as a switching-cabinet easement for Verizon. By use-permit condition, Exxon must grant us the required ROW for the project. Exxon's attorney has agreed to expedite Exxon's signature. County Board action may be required to accept the County's easements.

e. 7 parcels at the intersection of Columbia Pike and Glebe Road (Rosenthal, Cars DB1, and Stein properties). The County needs permanent street ROW and temporary construction easements. This is the most complicated ROW acquisition in the project, involving multiple parties and various obligations that must be released by financial institutions and tenants. This has been our intense focus over the last two weeks.

We expect that copies of proposed and execution documents will be sent during the week of December 17 to the property owner's counsel. Once the documents are executed, the County Board will need to approve the agreement of sale for the Stein parcel and approve the conveyance documents for the Cars DB1 parcels.

If we do not receive appropriate responses to these letters within a reasonable time, accounting for the volume of documents and number of parties involved, we will make the determination of whether eminent domain is appropriate.

All in all, I believe significant progress was made these past two weeks.

Till next time,

John Mausert-Mooney
Assistant County Manager
703-228-3113
JMooney@co.arlington.va.us

Arlington Journal - Saturday December 1, 2001

Petition pushes left-turn lanes
By JASON FORDNEY
Journal staff writer

Residents of neighborhoods along Columbia Pike presented a petition Friday to Assistant Arlington County Manager John Mausert-Mooney that includes hundreds of names supporting installation of left-turn lanes at the intersection of Columbia Pike and South Glebe Road.

Due to a lack of left-turn lanes at the intersection, signs prohibiting left turns have been posted for years on northbound and southbound Glebe Road, and eastbound on Columbia Pike.

Left turns are prohibited in three directions at the intersection because heavy traffic flow would lead to long backups as drivers wait for vehicles in front of them to turn.

The roads are owned by the commonwealth of Virginia, but residents want county officials to push the project forward.

Rebecca Kraft, vice president of the Douglas Park Civic Association, said neighbors are tired of cars and commercial trucks cutting through their neighborhood because of the restrictions.

``This is to show how much support there is for this in the neighborhood,'' Kraft said of the petition. ``It is a real ongoing hazard for the neighborhoods.''

She said negotiations with owners of property near the intersection to obtain easements, or portions of their property on which to build the lanes, have gone slowly and are one reason the project has not been completed.

``This process of getting the easements has been a very slow negotiating process,'' Kraft said. ``It has been bogged down in the county bureaucracy.''

Reid Goldstein, a member of the Douglas Park Civic Association, said he gathered names for the petition because cut-through traffic creates a safety issue.

``It is a neighborhood quality-of-life issue,'' Goldstein said. Arlington County spokesman Richard Bridges said the project involves several different initiatives related to streetscapes and property rights.

``This is an exceedingly complex situation,'' Bridges said. ``We understand the concern of residents, and our intention is to expedite the reworking of that intersection as quickly as possible.''