RICHMOND – A month after the fury over what many drivers considered excessive tolls on Interstate 66, Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne defended the tolls, saying they are necessary for increasing the flow of traffic on the highway in Northern Virginia.
The tolls, which vary based on demand and amount of traffic, have reached as high as $44 for a 10-mile drive since they were implemented on Dec. 4.
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Manassas police on Monday night swore in seven new police officers.
The new officers come as the city’s police department in recent months has been short on manpower, forcing existing officers and staff to put in extra hours to meet demand.
“No one likes to be given bad news, and a diagnosis of dementia is devastating. How wonderful it would be though if the bad news and negative language stopped at that point.”
So begins a short article by Wendy Mitchell, who is living with dementia. Wendy says the manner in which care providers communicate can have a profound effect on a patient’s ability to cope with a chronic medical condition.
Here’s today’s OPM status.
Transportation officials tell us that they expect tonight’s freezing rain and rain will refreeze overnight.
From the Virginia Department of Transportation:
ARLINGTON — A state official warns any changes to toll collection on Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway could force changes to the highway improvement project taking place outside the ring road.
As part of the $3.5 billion effort to add E-ZPass toll lanes to I-66 between Gainesville in Prince William County and the Captial Beltway, the consortium building the lanes, I-66 Mobility Partners, gave $579 million in free money to the state to be used for transportation improvements.
Prince William County Public Schools will close three hours early today. All afternoon and evening activities are canceled. SACC will be closed today.
The school division said it will attempt to serve lunches.
A Winter Weather Advisory (blue shading) has been issued for Monday afternoon & evening. Hazard: a glaze of ice from sleet & freezing rain which will cause slippery conditions for the Monday PM commute. A few inches of snow is expected in the mountains. #DCwx #MDwx #VAwx #WVwx pic.twitter.com/DJKuhGsxs2
— NWS DC/Baltimore (@NWS_BaltWash) January 7, 2018
The waiting room at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center was full on Friday.
