(This might very well end up as an IMHO or other thing, but I’m hoping there is a factual answer.)
For those living in the Washington, D.C., area, anybody have any insight what has happened to traffic in the last two weeks? It seems like all of a sudden – the Monday of Halloween maybe? – rush hour traffic has gotten a lot worse over the Potomac River. All year, it’s been congested, of course, but traffic moved more or less smoothly over the bridges. And in the evenings, it was even lighter. Then, all of a sudden, boom, it seems like the congestion is two or three times worse. And now it’s almost as bad in the evenings as well as the mornings.
Why would this change be so sudden? Is there something seasonal going on?
Holy cow, traffic could be worse in DC? I moved out of there in 2005. I’m still on the outer loop, about 1/2 mile from my exit; should be on my way to my new house soon.
One issue is that 66 is a mess because of construction. I don’t know if that is bleeding over to the 95 corridor, but every time I’ve headed west from the city to VA, it has been a nightmare lately, even on the weekends.
The congestion I’m seeing is just before and after the bridges – Key, Roosevelt, Memorial, 14th Street. I don’t take I-66 that far westward. Actually, in the evenings going inbound, the Southwest Freeway is locked up, which I normally only saw on nights when there was a home game at Nationals Park. But baseball season is over!
They had some kind of emergency construction on 95 a couple weeks ago, and they’re doing a lot of work on/around the Wilson Bridge and Telegraph Road. There’s also a lot of work happening on Arlington Blvd.
This shit has been going on around Telegraph Road (in VA) for almost 2 years. Add 10-15 minutes to my commute, each way, every day, for 2 years. I’m so pissed I voted against every single incumbent in the last election, since they always claim credit for “fixing” the roads in the area.
I’ve noticed the effect the OP is talking about. Some days the traffic is bad but moving, the next it seems to be completely broken. I think we are normally at peak capacity and it only takes a small change (one car breaking down or a little construction) to bring things to a halt. The OP has just had a bad week. Just wait until it snows.
I came here to suggest DST as the culprit. It always gets noticeably worse right after DST ends. Once you add in a little roadwork or an accident, it can quickly escalate out of control.
While we are on the subject. I had the opportunity to visit DC recently. I stayed at a hotel on Dupont Circle. Could someone please explain Dupont Circle to me? What is the point of a traffic circle that has an inner and an outer loop and that has traffic lights to get in and out of it? Doesn’t all that defeat the purpose of a traffic circle?
Unlike any other circle in the city Dupont Circle is the intersection of 3 major boulevards (Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, plus 19th an P). Priority is given to Connecticut (passes under) and Massachusetts (inner circle). Whether or not the design actually improves traffic flow or not is debatable, but that’s why.
That’s what all the traffic circles are like in Washington. They were put there for horse traffic. When it comes to motored vehicles, Americans are hopeless in a traffic circle, so we need traffic lights and loops to prevent continuous misadventure.
I also vote for the end of DST as the (main) culprit, at least in the evening. Morning traffic has been ridiculous since the beginning of September. I’m Metro-ing as much as I can.
UncleRojelio, many of the traffic circles have inner and outer loops and traffic lights around here. It does take getting used to.
If you drive in DC enough, the traffic circles are great. Not all of them have lights and inner and outer loops. They really beat 4 way stops in my opinion. The biggest problem is when someone unfamiliar with them does something unfortunate, I’ve seen people drive right into a circle and someone who tried to drive the wrong direction around another.
There are several traffic circles out here in suburban Maryland, and they don’t have any traffic lights. So maybe it’s just the city dwellers who need the extra guidance.
