Arlington Board Awards $13M for Street, Infrastructure Improvements

The Arlington County Board on Saturday awarded several contracts for street and infrastructure improvements totaling nearly $13 million.

The board voted unanimously to award:

• A $9.1 million contract to Milani Contsruction, a Washington, D.C.-based limited liability corporation, for a wide range of improvements along South Hayes Street in Pentagon City;
• Two contracts, together worth nearly $2.3 million, to AM-Liner East in Berryville to rehabilitate sewer lines and manholes throughout the county;
• And a $1.9 million contract to McLean-based Ardent Co. to convert the main thoroughfare in Crystal City — Crystal Drive — from a one-way street to a two-way street.

Improvements in the Pentagon City and Crystal City areas are part of larger projects designed to make the communities more vibrant and bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly, board Chairwoman Mary Hynes said in a statement. Countywide maintenance of Arlington's sewer system "is not sexy, but it is vital," Hynes stated.

Pentagon City improvements

The Pentagon City project is the largest of the bunch.

The long list of improvements to South Hayes Street, between 15th Street South and Army Navy Drive, is designed in part to "create a greater sense of place," according to a county news release.

Those improvements include: upgraded traffic signals with improved timing at intersections; new wheelchair ramps and pedestrian crossing equipment at all intersections, with mid-block crossing areas; new street furniture and lighting; new sidewalks, crosswalks and lane markings; and improved landscaping featuring trees and rain gardens.

The upgrades also will improve amenities for people who walk, bike or take the Metro to the Pentagon City area, the release states.

The 15-month project will begin in June.

Countywide sewer maintenance

The sewer upgrades should help protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed, according to a county news release.

The larger of the two sewer maintenance contracts will pay for relining the inside of sewer pipes throughout Arlington, beginning with a one-mile segment along Four Mile Run Drive between Columbia Pike and Walter Reed Drive. The process involves inserting a liner, similar to a sock, into pipes and curing them using hot water or steam.

Rehabbing manholes is necessary to prevent extra water from seeping into the sewer system, particularly during storms, the county news release states. This maintenance project will initially focus on manholes in and around Crystal City.

Crystal City improvements

The contract to convert Crystal Drive and the surrounding street network into two-way streets covers the first part of a three-phase plan, according to a county news release.

The new designs should make it easier for motorists to navigate Crystal City, the release states, thanks to improvements that include new traffic signals, a southbound bicycle lane, trees, intersection upgrades and wider sidewalks.

The first phase, which focuses on Crystal Drive between 12th and 15th streets, should begin in June and be complete by the end of the year.