this crap is rediculous.... yesterday on my way home from work it took me an hour an a half just to go 22 miles. the worst back up was on braddock rd. right before the Ox rd. intersection (for those in that area). im fairly new to fairfax and im wondering if any of you guys know the back roads with the least traffic.... i say least traffic because no matter where you go in this freakin area youre gonna get stuck. its just a difference between 15min hold-ups and hour long hold-ups.

 

I see you got the warm welcome to the region My suggestion: bring a book

 

Yeah really....

15 years ago when I started driving, everyone complained about the traffic then... but it was a picnic compared to what it is now.

Pretty much if you plan on going anywhere from 7-10 am or from 3-7 pm on a major road, you're screwed.

If it rains, add about +1 hours to those windows. 6-11 and 2-8 now...

If it snows by surprise, you may as well just sleep at work... you will never get home. It took me 4 hours to go 10 miles once. Now I know better and don't try to leave work if there is unexpected snow.

If the snow is forecast WELL in advance, it's not all that bad, since almost everyone just stays home hahah.

Fridays... special case there... On Friday, the morning rush hour is usually lighter than you'd expect... but for some reason, the afternoon one starts at least 1 hour early (sometimes 2 hours). This is particularly true in the summer. So... normally to avoid traffic, I'd leave work at 3 pm at the -latest- if I want a "clean run" home. On Friday, I need to leave around 1:30 or so.

Oh yeah and don't forget the lunch rush that occurs in some crowded areas... 12-1... you're in trouble!

Trying to find a sneaky shortcut is a good idea, but it doesn't work that well. Everyone else has lived here longer than you have, and we know them all. In fact, I'd say in 75% of the cases, the "shortcut" actually ends up taking longer... although it sometimes is a less stressful drive, so it's worth it. Perfect example is my commute from Rockville to Ashburn. If 270 and the outer loop of the beltway are clogged going into VA, I have a shortcut I use via Seven Locks road... it actually takes LONGER to go that way, but I still take it a lot of days because instead of being stuck on a concrete highway sandwiched between SUVs and Semis... I'm stuck on a small road with trees and birds and stuff I just put the top down on my S2000 and chill.

Traffic here SUCKS ***.... and it is only getting worse every single day!

 

I think it sucks and I only go across 14th ST bridge into DC.

 

Richest county in VA, many developers getting permits despite roads being too small to support the traffic, and exponential growth... Coincidence? I think not.

 

In the late 80's early 90's FFC didn't tax companies if they were to open their corporate HQ's in the county. Great thinking to bring in jobs, but WTF were they thinking?

 

That's exactly what happened. They bribed their way into getting permits, despite the standing legislation.

Latest news (according to the Washington Post) is they're trying to turn Tysons Corner into an urban city, much like DC, and will be minimizing the space businesses can build upon, they have to build practically right next to the street (kinda like Old Town Alexandria and Georgetown). And they're gonna try and run the subway through the area, having 2 stops on Rt. 7 alone, to minimize traffic.

I think we're in for a disaster.

 

i live in burke and work in ashburn... and ive noticed the sudden lunch rush and the fucked up friday commute. id rather take the long way with trees than the short way with trucks, semis, sedans, etc... etc...

i found that going 28 (which sucks) to stringfellow rd to lee hwy helps me avoid the braddock rd traffic.... but not by much since all the lights on lee hwy add to my travel time.

so basically theres no way to win it makes driving something to not look foward to.... like its a chore, not a fun expierience.


and to the guy that has to go on the 14th street bridge.... i feel for ya. i did that once around 4pm going into DC.... and i'll NEVER do it again.

 

i loathe northern virginia drivers. everytime i hit the streets im taking my life into my own hands.... like im going into combat or something.

on my way home from my parents place last night (stafford) i find that the hwy... at 9:30PM... is still packed with cars. but the traffic is still flowing so OK.... problem is, every lane is going the same ******* speed, which irritates me to no end. about five minutes into my trip i see this 89-91 integra driving with his brights on.... and its pretty misty outside b/c of the recent rain so its amplifying all the headlights around me.... pratically blinding me.... in front is a ford f-150.

long story short.... traffic (for no good reason) dramatically slows down. the f-150 nails his brakes, causing me to hit mine (with room to spare. i dont tailgate)... the high-beam integra swings behind me as im slowing down and nearly hits me. i see this in my rearview and react to it by moving into a gap in the left lane and accelerating. the f-150 decides to wait until im passing him, then swerves into my lane, running me out of the lane and nearly into a concrete divider. i caught it quickly enough and saved the car from breaking loose and smashing me into an wall.

filled with rage i pull infront of the truck.... nice and close... slow down, and (since my car shoots flames)... torched his bumper.

funny thing is i remember every detail in slow motion. and i was too pissed off to be freaked out. it was a close one though. damn i hate the traffic out here. the ppl that allowed this to happen need to burn in hell.

 

Coming up from Locust Grove to Alexandria every day is awful. Friday afternoons the worst. I spend an easy 4-6 hours in traffic every day. Even with the shortcuts. Its gotten to the point where I'm looking to get out of this nutty area pronto! Even route3 is bad right around Central Park mall. Seems all of NoVA is looking to move or has moved down here in the last year or so.

 

My folks used to live up on Long Island, and though the free vacation in the Hamptons was great the drive to get past the DC area almost made it not worth going. They moved down here to VA (Stuarts Draft - it's near Waynesboro) and I haven't been past Fredricksburg on 95 since then. I'll take 81 up if I need to visit family in NY from now on. I've talked to several people from California and they swear the NoVA traffic is worse than L.A.

 

That's right! Next stop, Richmond! Suburban Sprawl, here we come!

There'll be times I'll shut the engine down and let the truck just roll. I've done that for a half hour straight once. So long that the headlights ran the battery down and I couldn't crank start, I had to pop the clutch.

 

This is why I'm scared shitless if the Supreme Court ruling allowing Eminent Domain for any reason 'for the public good' starts taking effect. Local governments are easy to bribe/press, and it WILL happen.

Dave

 

Well if it means that they do what they should have done years ago... buy up the houses along 66 and actually widen the only ******* direct highway route into the city to something more than 2 lanes each way, i'm all for it.

What are your options from Nova? The Key bridge is closed off the GW Pkwy, the Chain bridge/123 is a circa 1950's cow path (alternating lanes? are you kidding?), route 50 still has stop lights on it, and so does route 7.

66 is a joke... and its HOV. It should be four lanes, each way, all the way in, and there should be a second bridge further out that crosses over towards NW DC, with real expressways that get you to the middle of the city, not dump you off at the border so you can meaner through neighborhoods. For a city of this level, its a joke.

 

That's a good point. Your counties are probably the only in the country that would get more support to build roads than the developers could lobby to continue developing. But widening the roads would just get the development growing faster. The bottom line is there are millions of people willing to live with the current situation to work in your area, and if you widen the roads even more people will flood in and jam them again. I don't see a way out of it - it's either live with it or leave.

Where I'm from, the traffic isn't as bad, and most counties are suffering badly from underplanned suburban sprawl. So in essence, you've already got too many people in the area, and I'm worried about stopping it before it gets to that point. (slowing it down within reason, of course, so that proper planning can be done).

Dave

 

he's absolutely right. but unfortunately you cant leave this area if government specific work is what you want. this is the worlds biggest rat trap.

i need to control the human population.

 

So THAT'S where the rest of my tax money is going... (aside from Iraq and Afghanistan)

Just kidding, sort of.

Dave

 

If? Umm...Dave, it's already begun. Over a year ago, some of our neighbors received notice that the County is taking a stretch 3 feet in from their land - and it's not optional. The houses are built on plenty of land, but the complex is literally right off of Rt. 7 (Leesburg Pike). So they're planning on expanding Rt. 7 to 3 lanes each way. By the time they pull the shoulder, pave it, make a new shoulder, move the walls back a bit, etc. they'll have to move in 3 feet into the backyards of the neighbors on the complex's outskirts. So it's a REALITY man. It's already happening.

Oh man..thanks a lot for that Peter. That one had me on the FLOOR. I was wondering if I was the only person who was like when I first saw that.

And what the hell's up w/ closing down a lane of traffic on 66 during non-HOV hours? You swear we can afford not having an extra lane! That's THE MOST retarded thing I've ever seen. Who cares if there aren't any shoulders...it works absolutely fine from 3 - 7 pm w/o shoulders...

 

Right. That's what I see down there - I don't want it here. This new law basically paves the way for uncontrollable growth, anywhere. Local officials can do a lot of damage during their terms and not care about getting voted out. It will be wild - already the Baltimore expansion has pushed development and landgrabbing in southern PA to a crazy pace.

Dave

 

Unfortunately when they do not widen or build new major roads, developers continue developing, and population grows, regardless.

Another problem with the roads is frequent lack of connectivity between side roads. That situation forces all the traffic onto main arteries, with no capillary flow. Sometimes a road will simply come to an end, and requires taking a long circuitous path to reach a spot only a stone's throw from that endpoint. Often developers build subdivisions with only one or two connections to the rest of the road network. For example, to visit a neighbor who lives one-half mile from me, I have to drive almost six miles by road. If there were more small roads and connections in strategic places, some of the traffic could be kept off main thoroughfares.

Nevertheless it is possible to find ways around many congested spots. It might entail driving 3x the distance but it can save more than 3x the time. Get yourself a set of the ADC map books, use a navigation system, or laptop with map software/gps in the car. My philosophy is to approach a trip through traffic much like a video game (but without the weapons). It's more fun and less frustrating. Drive downtown in the morning and arrive feeling wide awake and nicely pumped up from the experience.

Theoretically there is less traffic here during the summer due to a larger percentage of population being away on holiday.

 

I really wish I-95, 495, 66, and 50 were like 270... Has anyone ever driven up 270... 10 lanes wide. 3 on each side for express, 2 for local traffic...

People can't ******* merge, so they took it out of the equation... Done deal. It's beautiful...

 

The state has ALWAYS had the right to do that, it's what Emmenant Domain is all about, the state can take your land anytime it wants for a PUBLIC project. The new twist that has everyone freaked out is now PRIVATE developers can snag your land if it's deemed to be in the publics best interest.

 

^^ thats what just happened to my aunt.

as for finding new routes... i spend at least an hour now looking at maps and tracing back roads. its like planning for a strike sortie.

 

Yea I'm well aware. I guess the situation I'm talking about isn't quite as black and white. Yes, the state's taking land to expand roadways, but it's because they're allowing private developers to continue to build despite existing zoning requirements. Population density concerns aren't even on the table anymore lol. Fairfax County is in cahoots w/ the developers from the get-go. That's how we got to this situation in the first place.

Nghtstlkr7, you're scaring me LOL. Do all armed forces guys think of everything as a "mission" ? hehe. I gotta make sure I don't cut off any of them army guys man...

cosmicbang's 100% right. Ppl sometimes look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them what way I'm taking to go somewhere. Instead of going say, east, I'll go south, cut underneath everything eastward, come back up north, then go WEST to my destination. Definitely 3x the distance, but will take 1/3 the time haha. Go figure.