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Project to underground Tysons electric line will close trail next month

Vesper Trail will close for construction to underground a power line in the Spring Hill area of Tysons (via Dominion Energy)

Construction is about to ramp up on Dominion Energy’s undergrounding of a power line near the Spring Hill Metro station in Tysons.

The project will require an extended closure of the entire Vesper Trail from Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) to Vesper Street at Higdon Drive, starting Nov. 1, the utility company recently told residents in the area.

Expected to last until February 2024, the closure is needed so crews can work within the trail path, Dominion Energy said, noting that signs alerting users to the closure will be placed at the trail.

“We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work in your neighborhood,” Dominion said in a postcard sent to residents. “We are committed to completing this work safely and expeditiously to minimize disruptions to the Vesper Trail and your community.”

Preliminary construction activities on the Spring Hill project began this spring, necessitating a roughly five-day trail closure in late April as crews installed a manhole.

To increase the capacity of its power grid as Tysons continues to grow, Dominion is moving part of an existing, overhead electric transmission line underground. The 230-kilovolt line will run a half-mile from a Tyco Road substation to a transition pole near a new substation around the Vesper Trail’s midpoint.

Construction on the new, 75-foot-tall substation will begin after crews finish undergrounding the power line. The overall project is currently on track to be complete and in service by the end of 2025, according to Dominion spokesperson Peggy Fox.

Dominion says the project will “generally” serve its customers south of Leesburg Pike and outside of the Capital Beltway (I-495).

Graphic via Dominion Energy

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Nation’s largest solar energy project on airport grounds powers up at Dulles International

Tens of thousands of solar panels will be installed on the grounds of Dulles International Airport (courtesy Dominion Energy)

Dulles International Airport will soon be able to generate solar energy on its grounds.

Dominion Energy and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority will break ground on a new solar energy and storage project — called Solar + Storage Project — on vacant land near airport today (Tuesday).

The venture is the largest solar energy project developed at a U.S. airport, according to MWAA.

Construction is expected to begin later this year, according to Aaron Ruby, a spokesperson with Dominion Energy. The project will wrap up by late 2026. 

“This will be the largest renewable energy project ever developed at a U.S. airport. Millions of travelers flying in and out of Dulles each year will see this powerful symbol of the clean energy transition,” Ruby said.

The utility company plans to install the tens of thousands of solar panels and will build and maintain a 2 megawatt solar carports. MWAA will also have access to electric buses, electric vehicles and associated charging infrastructure.

Approved by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in January, the project will cover 800 acres of land and is expected to generate enough electricity to power 25,000 homes, according to the Gazette Leader. It will support both the airport and surrounding neighborhoods through Dominion’s grid.

A groundbreaking on the project is set for 11:30 a.m. Sen. Mark Warner, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay and other local and state leaders are expected to attend, according to a press release.

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Thunderstorm knocks out power for many in southeastern Fairfax County

Power outages in Belle Haven on Aug. 14, 2023 (via Dominion Energy)

Nearly 9,000 people in Fairfax County are without power after this afternoon’s storms, the most intense of which have moved on into Maryland.

As of 5:30 p.m., 8,971 Dominion Energy customers in the county had lost power, according to the real-time tracking database PowerOutage.US.

The most sizable outages have cropped up in Belle Haven along the Route 1 corridor, where 3,429 customers have lost power, and near Kingstowne along Beulah Street in Franconia, where 1,895 customers are affected, according to Dominion Energy’s outage map.

Per the map, Dominion has confirmed that the Franconia outage was caused by the storm, which produced high-speed winds that  prompted a Tornado Warning from 4:18-4:33 p.m. Crews are currently working on the incident, potentially restoring power between 5 and 10 p.m.

Causes for the most significant outages in the Belle Haven area are still pending investigation, but crews are now assessing the damage, according to Dominion. The estimated time of restoration ranges from 6 p.m. to midnight.

Power outages have also been reported in West Springfield and Mantua.

While there hasn’t been any confirmation of tornadoes, wind gusts reached 58 mph at Reagan National Airport, according to the Capital Weather Gang.

A Flash Flood Warning remains in effect until 7:45 p.m. Some flooding was reported in Springfield and the Alexandria area, where 2 to 4 inches of rain had fallen as of 5 p.m., the National Weather Service said.

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More than 2,000 people in Fairfax County still waiting for power after thunderstorm

Power outages in Fairfax area on Aug. 8, 2023 (via Dominion Energy)

Utility crews are still working to restore electricity to over 2,000 customers after last night’s storms.

As of 9 a.m., there were 2,545 people in the county without power, according to PowerOutage.US, which collects data from utilities across the country. That includes 1,672 Dominion Energy customers and 873 customers of the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC).

The scope of the outages has been reduced significantly overnight after strong winds and rain knocked out power for more than 16,000 people by 7 p.m. yesterday (Monday). The county was hit hardest south of I-66, particularly around Fairfax City and Annandale.

According to its outage map, Dominion Energy is estimating that power will be restored to the still-affected areas around 3-8 p.m. today. Spokesperson Peggy Fox reported around 8:30 a.m. that the company has 6,000 remaining outages at 240 different locations across the region.

There is at least one lingering road closure. Henderson Road near Seven Hills Lane in Clifton is still blocked by a downed tree, the Fairfax County Police Department tweeted, advising drivers to find alternate routes.

Last night, the department said debris and downed wires had closed “several secondary roads,” but no major ones, resulting in limited traffic impacts.

Overall, last night’s storms caused less damage than forecasters had feared. Warnings of potential tornadoes prompted facility closures and an early end to the work day for many, including local federal government employees.

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UPDATED: More than 16,000 without power in Fairfax County as storms roll through

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(Updated at 8:05 p.m.) Thousands of people in Fairfax County have been hit by power outages in the wake of a thunderstorm that’s continuing to march eastward toward D.C.

As of 7:15 p.m., there were 16,029 customers in Fairfax County and another 1,770 customers in Fairfax City without power, according to Dominion Energy’s outage map, which shows 90 separate outages.

The most sizable outages appear to be focused south of I-66, with thousands affected around Fairfax City, including around George Mason University’s campus, and Fairfax Station. Major outages also appear in Great Falls, Annandale and Lincolnia.

The outages may have affected the Burke Centre Library and the John Marshall Library in Rose Hill. Fairfax County Public Library says both branches were closed at 6:45 p.m. “due to facilities issues.”

While there have been no reports of hail or tornadoes yet, the storm has kept the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department busy with calls for downed wires and trees.

The department reported at 5:54 p.m. that it had units working 12 different calls for outside fires.

Road closures have also cropped up, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. A spokesperson says no major roads have been shut down, but “there are several secondary roads that may have debris or downed wires.”

“Due to inclement weather, multiple roads in Fairfax County are closed or blocked. #FCPD will respond and provide updates as soon as possible,” the department said on Twitter.

Metro, which has activated its Emergency Operations Center, is delaying trains and buses in some areas due to the weather.

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GW Parkway still partially closed as storm cleanup continues

Most of the GW Parkway’s northern section is closed as crews continue to remove trees knocked down by Saturday’s storm (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 1:35 p.m.) The ear-splitting thunder that accompanied Saturday’s rainstorm has faded, but efforts to clean up the resulting damage continue.

All southbound lanes on the northern section of the George Washington Memorial Parkway in McLean and Arlington remained closed during rush hour this morning (Monday), as crews worked to remove fallen trees.

“Currently, the northern section (from Spout Run Parkway to I-495) continues to be closed, with the exception of the northbound lanes from Route 123 to I-495,” the National Park Service said last night, urging drivers “to use caution in the area.”

The cleanup effort is expected to take another three to four days, according to the park service, which has deployed five different teams to assist.

“These closures are necessary to ensure the removal of hazardous trees, including those that have fallen across the roadway and broken limbs that pose a risk to travel lanes,” the NPS said in an update shortly before 1:30 p.m.

According to Dominion Energy, 768 of its customers in Fairfax County are still without power, as of 9:30 a.m.

The largest outage is in the West Falls Church area along Sleepy Hollow Road, affecting 437 people. The estimated time of restoration is still undetermined “pending investigation,” according to the utility company’s outage map.

There are also still smaller outages scattered around the Seven Corners area, Springfield and the Richmond Highway corridor.

Over the past couple of days, Dominion has managed to restore power to most of the 128,000 customers in Virginia who experienced an outage during the storm on Saturday (July 29), including approximately 26,000 people in Fairfax County.

“This was a severe storm with winds as high as 60-80 mph, which caused significant damage to trees, branches and power lines,” Dominion said in a tweet yesterday, stating that its crews would continue working through the evening to restore electricity for all those still affected.

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department said it responded to 238 calls between 4:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturday — double the call volume it sees on a typical summer Saturday.

Map via Google Maps

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Georgetown Pike car crash caused Saturday power outage in McLean area

A car crashed into a power switch box on Georgetown Pike, causing an outage from Great Falls to Tysons (courtesy anonymous)

About 1,400 people in the McLean and Great Falls area lost power Saturday night (May 20) due to a car crash on Georgetown Pike.

A photo sent to FFXnow shows a silver sedan that had smashed into a large green power box, coming to a rest against a streetlight.

The vehicle caused the outage when it crashed into the box, which had a power switch in it, according to Dominion Energy spokesperson Peggy Fox.

“Vehicle accidents are a common cause of power outages. There are transformers on poles and transformers on the ground and when vehicles hit them, they can and do cause outages,” Fox said, though she confirmed that this particular box wasn’t a transformer.

The outage mostly affected Great Falls and McLean, including Tysons. Georgetown Pike was closed between Kimberwicke Road and Potomac Knolls Drive for multiple hours, starting around 6:30 p.m., as crews worked to restore power, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

The loss of electricity came just one day after a separate crash took down power lines on Old Courthouse Road.

That crash on Friday (May 19) involved a tractor-trailer that hit a pole near Lord Fairfax Road and got entangled in the power lines. The truck blocked Old Courthouse between Hull Road and Gallows Road, requiring a night-long closure for repairs.

The resulting power outage, though, was relatively limited, affecting fewer than 50 Dominion Energy customers, according to the utility’s outage map.

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Dominion Energy to begin prep work on undergrounding Tysons power line

Tysons to Spring Hill transmission line construction phases (via Dominion Energy)

(Updated at 12:15 a.m. on 4/27/2023) Preliminary construction activities will kick into gear this weekend on a long-gestating project to move part of an electric transmission line underground in the Spring Hill area of Tysons.

Starting this Friday (April 28) evening, Dominion Energy will close the Vesper Trail from Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) to Vesper Street so its crews can install a manhole needed for the project, spokesperson Peggy Fox said. The trail closure will last until Tuesday (May 2).

“This closure is necessary to keep community members safe while we install a manhole,” Fox told FFXnow.

Replacing an existing above-ground line, the new 230-kilovolt transmission line will span approximately half a mile from Dominion’s Tyco Road substation to the vicinity of a planned Spring Hill substation just southwest of Leesburg Pike and Spring Hill Road.

An underground line will be safer and less visually obtrusive, while helping Tysons meet the demand for electricity as the area continues to develop, Dominion has said. Removal of the existing overhead line will also “facilitate” construction on The View, a mixed-use development planned next to the Spring Hill Metro station, according to documents filed with the State Corporation Commission.

The project was endorsed by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in March 2020 and approved by the SCC on June 24, 2021.

Dominion notified residents in the area on April 14 that construction on the power line would begin this month, noting that the county has waived noise restrictions for the project until Oct. 31 since some work will occur at night.

“To limit traffic impacts on major roadways, particularly Leesburg Pike, construction will be performed at night,” the utility company said. “This allows our crews to obtain necessary lane closures to complete the work safely and efficiently.”

Split into five phases, the project includes the installation of two manholes, which will occur throughout the day and night so they can be completed “as expeditiously as possible.”

“There will be more impacts to the trail in fall 2023 when we begin installing the underground line in this area, and outreach will take place prior,” Fox said by email. “No impacts to electric service are anticipated as a result of this work.”

Including the addition of a transition pole at the end of the new line and removal of the old overhead line, the project is expected to finish in late 2024. At that point, Dominion says it will begin construction on the Spring Hill substation, which will occupy a 1-acre site near Raglan Road Park.

The new substation will support customers south of Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) and outside of I-495, according to Dominion.

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Three people taken to hospital after crash that closes John Marr Drive

The intersection of John Marr Drive and Little River Turnpike has been closed after a crash (via Google Maps)

Updated at 11:25 a.m. — All lanes on John Marr Drive and Little River Turnpike have now reopened to traffic, police say.

Earlier: A crash on John Marr Drive in Annandale took down power lines and sent three people to the hospital this morning (Tuesday).

John Marr and Little River Turnpike are closed in both directions at the intersection for an indefinite period of time, as Dominion Energy addresses the downed wires in the street, the Fairfax County Police Department says.

Scanner traffic on Open MHz from around 8:30 a.m. indicates that a vehicle crashed into a pole. A responder from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department observed one victim on the street median.

“We do have one of the transmission lines from the power pole that’s down, that’s hanging. Two poles in both directions will be compromised,” the responder said.

Three people have been transported to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, according to the police.

“Expect delays and avoid the area if possible,” the FCPD said.

As of 9:40 a.m., no power outages in the area had been reported to Dominion Energy.

Image via Google Maps

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High winds cause power outages in Fairfax County, fire on Georgetown Pike

High winds are causing power outages in Fairfax County, including in Great Falls and Oakton (via Dominion Energy)

(Updated at 2:35 p.m.) Hundreds of people in Fairfax County have lost electricity today (Tuesday) as winds buffet the D.C. region, taking out power lines and contributing to at least one fire.

Georgetown Pike is currently closed in both directions at Miller Avenue in Great Falls due to a tree that fell on power lines and “a resulting fire,” the Virginia Department of Transportation said shortly after 1 p.m.

The closure extends between Stephanie Circle and Ellsworth Avenue, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

“Expect delays for several hours as emergency and utility crews clear the scene,” VDOT tweeted.

That one outage has affected 277 Dominion Energy customers, according to the utility company’s outage map. Power isn’t expected to be restored there until 4-9 p.m.

Further south in the Vienna and Oakton area, Dominion crews are assessing the damage caused by the wind storm in the Lake Vale neighborhood. Power is now being restored to over 800 customers.

Vale Road has been closed between Hunter Mill Road and Stryker Avenue due to fallen power lines, according to Fairfax County police.

“The closure is expected to last several hours. Please use an alternate route,” the FCPD said.

While those are the largest outages reported so far, power losses and road closures due to fallen wires have been seen across the county today. As of 1:50 p.m., about 1,268 Dominion Energy customers in the county were without power.

The National Weather Service issued a Wind Advisory that took effect at 9 a.m. today and will remain in place until 2 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday).

Winds have been consistently exceeding 40 mph, with some gusts topping 50 mph, according to the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang.

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