‘derailed traffic’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

A horrific line of storms has done significant damage to trees and power lines along the GW Parkway in Alexandria, and a coal train derailing on the CSX tracks near Quantico have brought two major avenues out of DC to a screeching halt. Downed trees and crushed cars on the GW Parkway have closed the thoroughfare, in both directions, from 395 down past Slaters Lane. The area near there has no power, though, and most of the traffic lights are out throughout Old Town Alexandria. Just a PSA: A traffic signal with no power is a four way stop. Dominion reports that almost 20,000 customers are without power in that immediate area, and that they are working on the situation.

More serious is the overturned coal train on the CSX tracks near Quantico, VA. VRE has suspended all southbound trains at Crystal City and will be busing customers from there to their final destinations. There will not be recovery equipment available until after 10pm tonight, so if you’re planning to come in on the train tomorrow morning, you’re going to want to spend time on VRE’s website to check to see what the current situation is.

Be careful out there, as there’s still one more line of storms due to hit the area before nightfall.

Tom Bridge

I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.