Posted on 07/20/2019 12:55:15 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The traffic jams over the Occoquan are so much worse than on any other part of Interstate 95 in Virginia that they throw off the scale of a review of potential traffic improvements for I-95 from North Carolina to the Potomac River.
Initial analysis ahead of public meetings this week to identify the Virginia trouble spots shows people spend more than 1.2 million hours a year in delays in just the 1-mile southbound stretch over the Occoquan River. The miles leading up to that are only slightly better, regularly slowed to around 30 mph.
Overall, at least 70% of delays are consistent and recurring, state data show, rather than due to crashes. Weekends are frequently as bad as weekdays, with little assurance of how long a trip might take.
In the big picture, southbound travel is generally significantly worse than northbound, but changes like the military’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) plan have added to “reverse commute” issues near places such as Fort Belvoir.
The I-95 Corridor Improvement Plan meetings offering an opportunity to highlight other problems that need to be addressed are scheduled Thursday night at South County Middle School in Lorton and next Tuesday at James Monroe High School in Fredericksburg. The meetings are scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. There is also an online survey.
While the meetings are preliminary, state transportation officials have identified the locations with the most consistent delays, most frequent crashes, and most frequent lane closures due to crashes or other incidents.
“There are many, many more problems on the 95 corridor than there are resources to try to address them, even when we’re focusing on just the top 25% of areas,” Virginia Deputy Transportation Secretary Nick Donohue said.
(Excerpt) Read more at wtop.com ...
50 and 29 go west-northwest.... certainly not alternatives to 95.
West-Southwest, but not an alternative to 95. Might work for the I 66 traffic.
“I live in Southern Connecticut and I pretty much avoid I-95 at all costs.”
Eastern CT becoming a bedroom community of NYC really screwed that stretch of highway.
When I was driving long haul my dispatchers NEVER had first hand of experience of east coast traffic. They couldn’t believe I-95 was congested.
I tried explaining that on Fridays, Sundays and holidays I-95 would be one big clusterscrew from Boston, MA to Petersburg, VA where it thinned out a bit. No one believed me.
US 1 and 301 used to be decent roads but the sheer number of people getting off the Interstate and local growth has made them as bad as I-95.
US 29 has some of the same problems.
Ain’t no good options going north or south in Virginia.
I miss driving OTR but don’t miss the traffic.
For nightmare traffic the 405 over the Sepulveda Pass retired the prize years ago.
Other than the obvious family ties, the reasons why I choose a big city are among these:
Great services for special needs kids
Top notch sports facilities for training
An NHL team
A variety of vibes and cultures
Every kind of art, hobby, music, and practice you want WILL BE NEARBY
And every time I have to drive through a big city, I think that nobody could pay me enough to make it worth it to live there.
If it works for you, that’s great.
I still don’t get it.
Yep..you’ve had the pleasure!!
Those northerners in Ind, Ohio, Ky, etc.. go to Florida and I-75 is the route.. do it at spring break!!
bump
I think it's the infamous Cross Bronx Expressway towards the George Washington Bridge.
Flatland Virginia and Carolina drivers don’t know how to maintain speed on hill.
It’s that simple.
Well, yes .. but only if you're willing to take the chance of being stopped at 301 red lights.
I really did not enjoy living in a small town where everyone appears to know and care about your business. I enjoy anonymity most of the time, as long as I do have friends. I love rural beauty but I’m ok with getting it on vacations.
Traffic sucks mightily. I’m in it daily. But there is great music, great podcasts, great audible books. In the back they also watch videos. It’s just a little down time that you get used to.
LA is lookin good on the roads right this sec. what am I doing sitting here in my jammies: should get onto that freeway!
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