Commute Question

[Anonymous]

Hi Folks,
New to the Area. I'm wondering how long will my commute take from Fort Washington to Bethesda. I know what Google Maps says but what is the best route and where can I expect to hit traffic. Fernwood Rd and Democracy Blvd will be my destination. Thanks in Advance!

[Anonymous]

A long effing time.

If you are going at rush hr, I would guess close to 2 hrs.

[Anonymous]

495 would be your best route but you will indeed hit very bad traffic. either direction. you're essentially doing a half circle around the beltway. the PG county side is pretty clear but once you hit the montgomery county line, it will be all backed up and very slow. same for the return home. on the VA side, you would have to go through the bridge and mixing bowl and then the legion bridge.. and none of those ever go smoothly either.

[Anonymous]

GW Parkway?

It's a bit rough, OP. What times of day are you going to commute?

[Anonymous]

Wow. That sucks. Any chance of flex time?

[Anonymous]

Op here. My start time is 7am and I will get off at 6pm. I will be working Tu, W, and Fri.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

I'm a real estate agent in downtown Bethesda and I had a listing in Fort Washington that I visited at least once a week for a long time. I almost always went through the city - from Fort Washington - 295 north into DC, exit Maine Avenue and up Rock Creek Parkway to Connecticut Avenue. It took me about 45 minutes each way in the best of traffic - I often went smack in the middle of the day or at night because when I tried to do it in rush hour it would take an hour and a half each way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A long effing time.

If you are going at rush hr, I would guess close to 2 hrs.

not
I live in Ft. Washington and commute to the Dulles area and it takes an hour and 15 on a typical day and 55 minutes when I leave at 9am to arrive by 10am....Bethesda can't be worse than that.

[Anonymous]

I commute from Spring Valley, which borders Bethesda, to Anacostia. It takes me less that 30 minutes during the morning rush hour. It takes less than 30 minutes on the way back as well, but I leave before the evening rush hour. The drive back during rush hour takes much longer due to traffic caused by Virginia-bound cars backed up at the bridges.

My route of choice, as suggested by a PP, is Mass Ave to Rock Creek Parkway to the Kennedy Center, through the National mall, across the tidal basin to 395 to 295. You should at least try this route once to see if it works for you.

One potential snag: You would be doing the reverse commute, and Rock Creek Parkway is one-way south bound 6:45 to 9:30 in the morning and one-way north bound from 3:45 to 6:30 in the evening. You would probably have no problems in the morning, but you might have to wait a little while for the parkway to open up in the evening.

On the rare occasions I leave the office during the tail end of rush hour, I often see people parked on Mass ave, waiting for the south-bound lanes of Rock Creek Parkway to open up.