495 traffic

[Anonymous]

Can someone please explain to me what they are doing to 495 near Mclean? Are they widening just right there? This has been going on for at least 3 years. How do people who need to cross the state line deal with it on a daily basis? I am in MD and don't go into VA often but when i do, i try to go during the middle of the day to avoid traffic and my goodness traffic is horrendous even at 11am-1pm. Do people just try not to cross states these days? Or is there some secret time to do it that I am not aware? I have friends across the river that I would like to see and it is pretty much impossible to do it without losing hours of our day.

Also, if they are widening road, how does that help? Are they also going to widen the bridge? Because if not, it seems that would only make traffic worse by creating a bottleneck, no? Please help me understand the insanity.

[Anonymous]

Omg, yes. Faster to take metro bus or both.

[Anonymous]

We haven't been on our favorite weekend walks at Carderock and Great Falls all year because the road is so scary.

[Anonymous]

To give a real answer, they are extending the toll lanes to near the bridge. They were hoping that Maryland would similarly expand the bridge and 495 on that side, but that doesn't appear to be happening. So, the end result will still be gridlock at the bridge on the Inner Loop, but you can cut the line if you pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what they are doing to 495 near Mclean? Are they widening just right there? This has been going on for at least 3 years. How do people who need to cross the state line deal with it on a daily basis? I am in MD and don't go into VA often but when i do, i try to go during the middle of the day to avoid traffic and my goodness traffic is horrendous even at 11am-1pm. Do people just try not to cross states these days? Or is there some secret time to do it that I am not aware? I have friends across the river that I would like to see and it is pretty much impossible to do it without losing hours of our day.

Also, if they are widening road, how does that help? Are they also going to widen the bridge? Because if not, it seems that would only make traffic worse by creating a bottleneck, no? Please help me understand the insanity.

Agree - also a Md who does need to travel into Virginia at least once a week. (We love rural Virginia and Alexandria so often travel there at other times also). I have found off beltway roads that work for me for most of the commute. The inner loop from Tysons to Legion bridge is the worst.

Also the GW Parkway repairs are the slowest most disruptive road work that I ever experienced. It has been going on forever and is dangerous at night with the poor lighting, cement barricades and cones blocking multiple lanes for miles and miles. We try to avoid using Reagan National airport now.

That said, we are grateful that Virginia is our neighboring state. We are also grateful that we live next to DC. Our tri state metro area is amazing. But the traffic s*cks. Especially 495 between Tysons to Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Even for those who pay to be in the express lanes, it's a 6.5 mile jamb where the express lane ends way short of 270. I welcome VA expanding the express lanes but yes, MD needs to do the same or they are just extending the jam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To give a real answer, they are extending the toll lanes to near the bridge. They were hoping that Maryland would similarly expand the bridge and 495 on that side, but that doesn't appear to be happening. So, the end result will still be gridlock at the bridge on the Inner Loop, but you can cut the line if you pay.

What makes them think MD would do this? I thought this idea was rejected many times over by Bethesda residents. So VA is just going to spend $$$ to make traffic worse in hopes that it will pressure MD into action?

[Anonymous]

It is so stupid I cannot believe it was ever approved. I would like to vote out every person who was involved.

[Anonymous]

Traffic has been super light for the last week or so. Love it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what they are doing to 495 near Mclean? Are they widening just right there? This has been going on for at least 3 years. How do people who need to cross the state line deal with it on a daily basis? I am in MD and don't go into VA often but when i do, i try to go during the middle of the day to avoid traffic and my goodness traffic is horrendous even at 11am-1pm. Do people just try not to cross states these days? Or is there some secret time to do it that I am not aware? I have friends across the river that I would like to see and it is pretty much impossible to do it without losing hours of our day.

Also, if they are widening road, how does that help? Are they also going to widen the bridge? Because if not, it seems that would only make traffic worse by creating a bottleneck, no? Please help me understand the insanity.

Agree - also a Md who does need to travel into Virginia at least once a week. (We love rural Virginia and Alexandria so often travel there at other times also). I have found off beltway roads that work for me for most of the commute. The inner loop from Tysons to Legion bridge is the worst.

Also the GW Parkway repairs are the slowest most disruptive road work that I ever experienced. It has been going on forever and is dangerous at night with the poor lighting, cement barricades and cones blocking multiple lanes for miles and miles. We try to avoid using Reagan National airport now.

That said, we are grateful that Virginia is our neighboring state. We are also grateful that we live next to DC. Our tri state metro area is amazing. But the traffic s*cks. Especially 495 between Tysons to Bethesda.

+1
We do the reverse -from alexandria to mclean regularly. The GW project is infuriating b/c they are rarely working on it. Yes you will see one or two trucks of guys for a portion of the day, but probably 7/10 times i drive it, zero work being done between alexandria and the 123 exit. This was before the govt shut down, too. If they would actually work, it could be wrapped up soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what they are doing to 495 near Mclean? Are they widening just right there? This has been going on for at least 3 years. How do people who need to cross the state line deal with it on a daily basis? I am in MD and don't go into VA often but when i do, i try to go during the middle of the day to avoid traffic and my goodness traffic is horrendous even at 11am-1pm. Do people just try not to cross states these days? Or is there some secret time to do it that I am not aware? I have friends across the river that I would like to see and it is pretty much impossible to do it without losing hours of our day.

Also, if they are widening road, how does that help? Are they also going to widen the bridge? Because if not, it seems that would only make traffic worse by creating a bottleneck, no? Please help me understand the insanity.

Agree - also a Md who does need to travel into Virginia at least once a week. (We love rural Virginia and Alexandria so often travel there at other times also). I have found off beltway roads that work for me for most of the commute. The inner loop from Tysons to Legion bridge is the worst.

Also the GW Parkway repairs are the slowest most disruptive road work that I ever experienced. It has been going on forever and is dangerous at night with the poor lighting, cement barricades and cones blocking multiple lanes for miles and miles. We try to avoid using Reagan National airport now.

That said, we are grateful that Virginia is our neighboring state. We are also grateful that we live next to DC. Our tri state metro area is amazing. But the traffic s*cks. Especially 495 between Tysons to Bethesda.

+1
We do the reverse -from alexandria to mclean regularly. The GW project is infuriating b/c they are rarely working on it. Yes you will see one or two trucks of guys for a portion of the day, but probably 7/10 times i drive it, zero work being done between alexandria and the 123 exit. This was before the govt shut down, too. If they would actually work, it could be wrapped up soon.

Same with 495. I never see people working on it. I mean in China or Japan or whenever this would have been done perfectly in 6 months max. Instead we have to suffer for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Traffic has been super light for the last week or so. Love it!

Not on 495 near Georgetown Pike. Always backed up because of the construction that they never seem to actually work on completing. It is so infuriating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Traffic has been super light for the last week or so. Love it!

Not on 495 near Georgetown Pike. Always backed up because of the construction that they never seem to actually work on completing. It is so infuriating.

And that ramp from 496 to GWP it seems to go 360, or is that only during construction?

[Anonymous]

*^I-495, not 496

[Anonymous]

Three years. OMG

Have you ever heard of Boston's Big Dig?