Traffic congestion in the Washington region improves. Seriously.

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Post: Traffic congestion in the Washington region improves. Seriously.

You spent 11 hours less stuck in traffic last year.

Yes, skeptical Washington. Really.

The annual release of data from Inrix on Tuesday showed that the average Washington area driver wasted 45 hours doing the bumper-to-bumper dance last year. That's 11 hours less than in 2010.

"You have to understand that when you're sitting in traffic, that's like watching paint dry,"  said Jim Bak of Inrix. "I think a lot of people would say, "˜Gee, I spent 45 hours a year in traffic in D.C.? I thought I spent more than that.' It feels longer than it actually is, but that's actually down."

[bsmart]

So folks stop being nice to those fleet vehicles and delivery trucks.  If they have to sit an extra 30 seconds every time there is a lane merge it will add up and affect the congestion numbers since those vehicles are the way they figure that out!

[agentsteel53]

no, the solution is to not let people cut in front of a lot of stopped traffic, and then attempt to jump the solid white line - or, sometimes, the unpaved gore.

[bsmart]

Well fleet and delivery vehicles seem to be the ones running up the merge lanes to the end and diving in a lot of the time.  They do it because folks let them in. Either because they figure 'Hey he's just trying to make a living'  or because they are intimidated.  So tighten up the formation and don't give them a break.  Yea it's mean but traffic is tough out there

[Mdcastle]

It's possible I might take a road trip around Chesapeake Bay. Looking at Google Maps Traffic it seems the sourthern edge of the beltway is OK but heading south on I-95 during a weekday afternoon is not some place I want to be. Correct?

[Mapmikey]

If you get there before 3 (or is it 3:30) you can use the HOV lanes south without 3 people.  Then most days that would be tolerable.  Once you reach 4 or 5 pm there are aggravations south of the end of HOV down to VA 3 no matter what you do.  A crap shoot whether it is merely frustrating or absolutely putrid.  Any kind of distraction at all (wreck, VMS sign, clouds, etc) turns this part of 95 into a parking lot.

Mapmikey

[1995hoo]

If you get there before 3 (or is it 3:30) you can use the HOV lanes south without 3 people.  Then most days that would be tolerable.  Once you reach 4 or 5 pm there are aggravations south of the end of HOV down to VA 3 no matter what you do.  A crap shoot whether it is merely frustrating or absolutely putrid.  Any kind of distraction at all (wreck, VMS sign, clouds, etc) turns this part of 95 into a parking lot.

Mapmikey

The HOV hours southbound are from 3:30 to 6:00 PM, and the State Police claim they currently interpret the rule as meaning that even if you entered the lanes legally prior to 3:30, if 3:30 hits and you don't have three people you can be ticketed because it's illegal for you to be in there (even if you couldn't reach an exit prior to 3:30, although this is less of an issue going south).

"Mdcastle," you're correct that the southern side of the Beltway over the Wilson Bridge is no longer a bottleneck. I live near that part of the Beltway and it's been astonishing seeing the improvement recently. However, even with that improvement I'd still suggest that unless you have a particular roadgeeking-related reason for wanting to take I-95 in Virginia you might wish to take US-301 instead. It's a more relaxed drive than I-95 in Virginia. Speed limits are lower, of course, but depending on the time of day it can be faster.

[cpzilliacus]

If you get there before 3 (or is it 3:30) you can use the HOV lanes south without 3 people.  Then most days that would be tolerable.  Once you reach 4 or 5 pm there are aggravations south of the end of HOV down to VA 3 no matter what you do.  A crap shoot whether it is merely frustrating or absolutely putrid.  Any kind of distraction at all (wreck, VMS sign, clouds, etc) turns this part of 95 into a parking lot.

Mapmikey

The HOV hours southbound are from 3:30 to 6:00 PM, and the State Police claim they currently interpret the rule as meaning that even if you entered the lanes legally prior to 3:30, if 3:30 hits and you don't have three people you can be ticketed because it's illegal for you to be in there (even if you couldn't reach an exit prior to 3:30, although this is less of an issue going south).

Virginia State Police definitely start enforcing HOV restrictions at 3:31 P.M. along the I-95 and I-395 HOV lanes when they are running southbound.

"Mdcastle," you're correct that the southern side of the Beltway over the Wilson Bridge is no longer a bottleneck. I live near that part of the Beltway and it's been astonishing seeing the improvement recently. However, even with that improvement I'd still suggest that unless you have a particular roadgeeking-related reason for wanting to take I-95 in Virginia you might wish to take US-301 instead. It's a more relaxed drive than I-95 in Virginia. Speed limits are lower, of course, but depending on the time of day it can be faster.

I concur with the above. 

Speed limit on most of U.S. 301 in Prince George's and Charles Counties in Maryland; and in King George and Caroline Counties in Virginia is 55 MPH (and sometimes, there is state police and county law enforcement agency speed limit enforcement in these counties)   

Yes, there are some slow at-grade signalized intersections, and the Gov. Harry Nice Bridge is only two undivided lanes (1 lane each way), but I prefer it over the afternoon misery of I-95 through Prince William and Stafford Counties in Virginia.

[Mdcastle]

I'd like to see I-95 and the Wilson Bridge, but if we wind up going and have to drive through on a weekday I'll keep 301 in mind. That's theroetically an option since we'd be going from Ocean City to Doswell.

[cpzilliacus]

I'd like to see I-95 and the Wilson Bridge, but if we wind up going and have to drive through on a weekday I'll keep 301 in mind. That's theroetically an option since we'd be going from Ocean City to Doswell.

The Wilson Bridge is pretty neat, but if you have not crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (U.S. 13), that is neater. 

O.C., Md. to Doswell, Va. is 231 miles via the Wilson Bridge (no toll); 225 miles by way of U.S. 301 and the Gov. Harry W. Nice Bridge (southbound toll is $4); and 244 miles by way of U.S. 13, the CBBT (toll is $12) and I-64.

[Beltway]

"Mdcastle," you're correct that the southern side of the Beltway over the Wilson Bridge is no longer a bottleneck. I live near that part of the Beltway and it's been astonishing seeing the improvement recently. However, even with that improvement I'd still suggest that unless you have a particular roadgeeking-related reason for wanting to take I-95 in Virginia you might wish to take US-301 instead. It's a more relaxed drive than I-95 in Virginia. Speed limits are lower, of course, but depending on the time of day it can be faster.

US-301 takes about 35-40% longer timewise when the I-95 is uncongested.  US-301 in Maryland has about 50 signals between the river and US-50, and Virginia US-301 and VA-207 has about 15 between the river and I-95.

I check WMAL 630 AM and WTOP 103.5 FM for traffic reports, and if I-95 is reasonably uncongested, it is by far the superior route, for time, safety and comfort.  It would take a serious reported traffic problem before I would leave I-95.

[cpzilliacus]

"Mdcastle," you're correct that the southern side of the Beltway over the Wilson Bridge is no longer a bottleneck. I live near that part of the Beltway and it's been astonishing seeing the improvement recently. However, even with that improvement I'd still suggest that unless you have a particular roadgeeking-related reason for wanting to take I-95 in Virginia you might wish to take US-301 instead. It's a more relaxed drive than I-95 in Virginia. Speed limits are lower, of course, but depending on the time of day it can be faster.

US-301 takes about 35-40% longer timewise when the I-95 is uncongested.  US-301 in Maryland has about 50 signals between the river and US-50, and Virginia US-301 and VA-207 has about 15 between the river and I-95.

Your qualification above is critical - when I-95 is uncongested.

I-95 P.M. peak period congestion southbound in Prince William and Stafford Counties, especially on Thursdays and Fridays is markedly worse than it was a few years ago.  I can think of three reasons for that:

• Removal of the "ramp meter" at the (formerly) three-lane (each way) Woodrow Wilson Bridge;
• Removal of the "ramp meter" at the (former) lane drop southbound at Va. 286 [old 7100] (Fairfax County Parkway), Exit 166 in Newington (there are now four southbound lanes from Va. 286 to Va. 123 (Gordon Boulevard) in Prince William County);
• Impacts of BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure), which has relocated thousands of jobs to Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County and Marine Corps Base Quantico in Prince William and Stafford Counties.

If I am headed south and plan to be through Fredericksburg before about 3:00 P.M., then I agree with you - unless there's a wreck on I-95, it is a markedly better choice than U.S. 301 to I-295 or U.S. 301 to Va. 207.  But in the midst of a "getaway" afternoon peak-period trip headed south, I prefer the many signalized intersections on U.S. 301 to the misery of I-95.

I check WMAL 630 AM and WTOP 103.5 FM for traffic reports, and if I-95 is reasonably uncongested, it is by far the superior route, for time, safety and comfort.  It would take a serious reported traffic problem before I would leave I-95.

WTOP has (in my opinion) far-and-away the best traffic reports, reporters and reporting in the D.C. media market (as good as the traffic reports on WCBS 880 AM in New York City and KNX 1070 AM in Los Angeles).  They also have a simulcasting transmitter well south of Washington, D.C. on 107.7 FM (call letters WWWT, licensed to Manassas, though the tower is near Opal, Fauquier County) that extends the signal south well beyond Fredericksburg.

[1995hoo]

You'll notice I did preface my US-301 suggestion with the comment that the suggestion was "unless you have a particular roadgeeking-related reason for wanting to take I-95 in Virginia." "Mdcastle" responded that he'd like to see I-95 and the Wilson Bridge. Those themselves are reasons to go that way, then.

I threw out the US-301 suggestion in part because I just get sick of I-95 and I like to go a different way once in a while, and I definitely think it feels like less of a rat race than I-95 does even though I see fewer people weaving in and out of traffic at 90 to 100 mph on I-95 now than I did in the mid-1990s. I should note, however, that when I use the 301 route I pick it up in Waldorf–because of where I start out, I usually take MD-210 south to Accokeek and then MD-228 across to Waldorf (or the reverse coming north). So I miss a fair number of traffic lights because 210 doesn't have as many. No doubt that affects my willingness to go that way.

I agree with cpzilliacus that WTOP "on the 8s" has the best reports around. Bob Marbourg (afternoon traffic reporter) has a style that grates on my nerves, but I'll readily admit he knows his stuff quite well. There's another station at 99.1-FM, WNEW, that airs traffic reports "on the 1s" (:01 after, :11 after, etc., just as WTOP does theirs at :08 after, :18 after, etc.). While I think WTOP generally has the best reports, I find it valuable to remember the WNEW option for the times when I turn on the radio a hair too late and find I just missed the WTOP report–if I flip to WNEW I don't have to wait ten minutes for the next one. That time can be crucial in deciding which route to use. (I have another option for traffic reports–XM radio–but I've found over the years that I just don't have confidence in their accuracy.)

[Beltway]

If I am headed south and plan to be through Fredericksburg before about 3:00 P.M., then I agree with you - unless there's a wreck on I-95, it is a markedly better choice than U.S. 301 to I-295 or U.S. 301 to Va. 207.  But in the midst of a "getaway" afternoon peak-period trip headed south, I prefer the many signalized intersections on U.S. 301 to the misery of I-95.

Again, I check the radio traffic reports, and from the 2 stations, to get as broad a perspective as possible.

There has to be really bad traffic conditions on I-95 before I would consider the 65+ traffic signals on US-301 worth slogging through. Basically at least one hour projected delay on I-95, or if unknown an event on the magnitude of a known HAZMAT incident or a truck wreck.

And this for my trips to the MD Eastern Shore where use of US-301 is about the same miles as use of I-95.

Completion of these 3 major projects has provided a huge improvement to I-95 traffic -- WWB Project, Springfield Interchange Project, and 4th Lane Widening Project between Newington and Woodbridge.  Phase 8 of the Springfield Interchange will provide another major improvement in December.

US-301 hasn't seen a major improvement since about 20 years ago when it was widened to 6 lanes in the Waldorf area, and the MD-5 Waldorf Bypass was built (it removed MD-5 from 3 miles of US-301).

I do enjoy US-301 as an alternate ... once in awhile!  Maybe one time out of 10...

[Mdcastle]

I'm kind of thinking now about driving straight through on US 50 to I-395. I wouldn't get to see the Wilson Bridge but my sister would get to see part of Washington; what you can see from the freeway anyway, and if we come back to the area I'd have this "out of the way" so I wouldn't have to potentially drive into Washington on a weekday. Good idea or no?

[NE2]

I'm kind of thinking now about driving straight through on US 50 to I-395. I wouldn't get to see the Wilson Bridge but my sister would get to see part of Washington; what you can see from the freeway anyway,

You can see both by going I-395 to I-695 (probably still signed "to I-295" in that direction) to I-295.

[vdeane]

Technically the Woodrow Wilson Bridge enters DC for about a tenth of a mile.

[1995hoo]

Technically the Woodrow Wilson Bridge enters DC for about a tenth of a mile.

If you walk or ride a bike across the bridge you can see where the VA/DC and DC/MD lines are. They've put markers across the walkway.

[cpzilliacus]

WTOP Radio: September traffic: Worst ever?

[intelati49]

WTOP Radio: September traffic: Worst ever?

Oh, the irony