Archive: November 2006
Va. To Use Toll Booth Cameras
In Virginia, the government can't use cameras to take pictures of red light runners. That's Big Brotherism, according to the General Assembly. But apparently it's okay to use cameras to catch toll jumpers. The Virginia Department of Transportation sent out a notice on Wednesday warning all that the cameras are being tested on the Dulles Toll Road, Powhite Parkway Extension near Richmond and the Coleman Bridge in Hampton Roads. Starting early next year, toll violation notices will be sent to motorists when their vehicles' images are captured by the cameras. Notices will state the date of the violation and will include a photo of the license plate taken at the time of the violation, VDOT said. Violators will be asked to pay the toll amount and will be assessed the toll plus a $25 administrative fee. There are appeals procedures to follow for cases of mistaken identity, sold or stolen...
By Robert Thomson | November 30, 2006; 8:31 AM ET | Comments (33)
We Can Solve This, But ...
We can ease traffic congestion and make travel safer. Some will say that statement is a no-brainer, while others will say, Not so fast, doc, we can't build our way out of congestion. There's a dispair over congestion that amounts to acceptance, a sense that what is bad now can only get worse. But I'm looking forward to the new ramp that will open next week at the Springfield interchange. When I'm driving south from the Beltway onto I-95, I won't have to slide across several lanes of traffic to get where I need to be. The recent widening of I-66 near Manassas and the opening of the ramps at Route 28's Sterling interchange will make things better. The new interchanges on Route 29 in Maryland have made things better. On Tuesday afternoon, a group of Virginians gathered at the Capital One building in McLean because they also believe that...
By Robert Thomson | November 29, 2006; 7:59 AM ET | Comments (37)
Advisories for D.C. Drivers
Here are a couple of advisories for drivers in Northwest Washington: Beach Drive Closings: Rock Creek's Beach Drive between Tilden Street/Park Road and Blagden Avenue will be closed periodically between 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. today and tomorrow because of a stream restoration project in the area. The construction involves landscaping and stone work adjacent to the Peirce Mill dam. Woodley Road Work: Washington National Cathedral wants to alert drivers to possible traffic disruptions related to construction of new parking garages. Two flaggers will control traffic in the 3600 block of Woodley Road, where traffic is restricted to one lane because of utility work. To limit the impact on drop-offs and pick-ups at the cathedral schools, the work is being done between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. On Saturday, that section of Woodley is scheduled to be closed between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to allow room for a large...
By Robert Thomson | November 28, 2006; 6:30 AM ET | Comments (4)
Sharing Holiday Travel Experiences
Fellow Thanksgiving travelers know that there's a curse on Delaware. There's something about that short stretch of I-95 across The First State that finds a way to create trouble for motorists. On Sunday, left Cape Cod at 6 a.m., and had a pretty smooth trip, even clearing the lane merge around Exit 8 on the New Jersey Turnpike with no trouble at 11:15 a.m. (By the way, it worked well for us to stay in the truck lanes, rather than the cars-only lanes, at that merge. There were few trucks, and there is no merge for the right-most lane.) Even the toll plaza at the Delaware Memorial Bridge was a breeze. Then it stopped. Traffic on I-95 was backed up across the entire state of Delaware because of an accident near Elkton, Md. After I tuned in the Delaware Department of Transportation's radio at 1380 AM and learned the cause...
By Robert Thomson | November 27, 2006; 8:12 AM ET | Comments (40)
Freeway's Future Debated
The District's Department of Transportation expects that by the end of the month it will have a final version of the consultant's report on what to do with the Whitehurst Freeway, the elevated link between Georgetown and Foggy Bottom. But in the world of government planning, a final report is just the beginning. In fact, there have been at least four other studies of what to do with the freeway. At a D.C. Council committee hearing on Wednesday, committee chairman Carol Schwartz expressed her determination to make sure that the proposal to tear down the freeway does not advance to the next stage, a million dollar environmental impact study of the top alternatives presented in the consultant's study. For those commuters who use the Whitehurst to skirt Georgetown's congested streets, the only good alternative is a tunnel, but that would cost far more than it's worth. It's difficult to find...
By Robert Thomson | November 17, 2006; 8:15 AM ET | Comments (43)
Red Line Service Disrupted
UPDATE: Metro says power was restored and service resumed at 7:29 a.m. Metro is reporting a disruption between the Dupont Circle and Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan stations on the Red Line in both directions due to a loss of rail power. Shuttle service has been requested between the Farragut North and Van Ness-UDC stations. Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein told the Associated Press that 75 passengers who were aboard a Shady Grove bound train when the outrage occurred were led back to the DuPont Circle station by Metro employees. Farbstein says the passengers were led along the safety catwalk and have since boarded buses to unaffected stations. Farbstein said maintenance crews are trying to find out what's caused the power outage....
By Kyle Balluck | November 16, 2006; 8:04 AM ET | Comments (6)
Thanksgiving Travel Advisory
Many of you have told me that you loathe the Delaware portion of I-95, particularly during the highway bridge rebuilding that has narrowed it from four lanes to two. Delaware's Department of Transportation doesn't like it any better than the rest of us, and its crews are working to finish that project by next Wednesday morning. If they make their deadline -- and they're paying very close attention to it -- I-95 would be restored to four travel lanes just in time for the biggest part of the Thanksgiving getaway. Of course, this news may complicate travel planning for some of you who are heading north for the holiday. Leave before Wednesday and drive through the restricted highway or wait till Wednesday, or later, and have four lanes? Here are some interesting traffic statistics from the Delaware DOT that you might consider in planning your passage through that state. These...
By Robert Thomson | November 15, 2006; 8:19 AM ET | Comments (14)
Fixing Problem at Conn. Ave. Bridge
Several readers have been asking about a situation at the Klingle Bridge reconstruction area on Connecticut Avenue, and the District's Transportation Department had some news about this major commuter route. Dear Dr. Gridlock: A warning note to motorists traveling southbound on Connecticut Avenue near the Klingle Bridge project: DDOT has rerouted several southbound lanes of Connecticut Avenue just south of Klingle bridge. The city put up electronic lane markers above the street, which is helpful, but some motorists aren't seeing the traffic signals for the Kennedy-Warren apartment complex or the entrance for the National Zoo, which are at street level. This past weekend, I noticed several cars zoom through the intersection and a couple more drivers slam on their brakes to stop at the red lights between Devonshire and the pedestrian crossing for the zoo. Dan Crowe Cleveland Park DDOT plans to relocate the hanging lights so there is less...
By Robert Thomson | November 14, 2006; 12:00 PM ET | Comments (3)
Advice on a Southern Getaway
Here's a question from a reader concerning our discussion of long distance driving. She's asking about how to get past Richmond. I've always gone straight through the city on I-95, rather than use I-295 to get around Richmond and Petersburg. The traffic congestion on the direct route never seemed bad enough to merit the diversion. Am I wrong about that? And I haven't driven through Georgia and Florida in 30 years, not since a friend and I decided it would be a swell idea to drive straight from New York to Fort Lauderdale without stopping. You don't have to tell me that was a bad idea. I knew that after the first 18 hours. But can anyone help our letter-writer with the southern part of this long trip? Here's the letter: Dear Dr. Gridlock: Every time you have a discussion on alternative routes north, I hope for the same going...
By Robert Thomson | November 14, 2006; 8:30 AM ET | Comments (23)
Metro Responds on Escalators, Parking
Those of us who cover transportation for The Post have left some questions hanging during our Live Online discussions, so I thought I'd pass along some answers we've gotten. During Roads & Rails with Eric Weiss and Lena Sun on Monday, a reader wanted to know Metro's official policy for bikers if a rail station has a broken elevator. Can they take the escalators? Lena said she talked to Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel, who told her that official policy would be that bikers should go to next station with a working elevator. Metro doesn't want people with bikes using the escalators for safety reasons, envisioning a bad outcome for other passengers if a biker lost hold on a bike and it fell down the escalator. (That part seems reasonable to me, but I know a lot of Metro customers wish the system had a better way of alerting them to...
By Robert Thomson | November 14, 2006; 6:06 AM ET | Comments (2)
Big Improvement for Beltway Traffic
Maryland's State Highway Administration says it's attacking a major problem on the Capital Beltway's inner loop. It's widening the ramp that leads to southbound Wisconsin Avenue in Montgomery County. That stretch of the Beltway is notorious for congestion during the afternoon rush. Many drivers who work in Northern Virginia and live in Maryland or the District know what I'm talking about. The SHA says that more than 244,000 vehicles travel that stretch of the Beltway daily. The exit ramp for southbound Wisconsin is going to be widened to two lanes. Drivers will also see curb and gutter replacement, roadway patching, grinding and resurfacing and re-striping. The $654,000 project should be completed in the spring, the SHA says Some pain first, of course: To accommodate the work, the ramp will be narrowed between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays. Watch for arrow boards, drums and temporary traffic signs in the work...
By Robert Thomson | November 13, 2006; 3:46 PM ET | Comments (13)
Holiday Tips for Drivers
We're approaching the season when my Internet skills get sharpened: holiday shopping season. I'll do almost anything to avoid getting malled at Tysons or along Rockville Pike. I lock in certain days off in December at the start of each year, not so we can travel to relatives, but so I can perform those few shopping tasks I can't get done online. Any travel at all along the main shopping routes is vexing, whether I'm actually doing holiday shopping or just trying to get from one place to another. There are bottlenecks to avoid, lanes to steer clear of and times of day to just stay off the roads. If I do have to enter a mall parking lot or garage, I'll park in the remotest regions, to avoid those drivers who trail you around, like stalkers, as you head back to your car. No one in a mall parking...
By Robert Thomson | November 13, 2006; 10:04 AM ET | Comments (19)
Beltway Reopens Following Accident
All lanes were closed northbound on the beltway between Route 50 and I-66, according to Maptuit....
By Sheryl Silverman | November 10, 2006; 9:30 AM ET | Comments (5)
What the Elections May Bring
Most political commentary has been focused on blue-red fortunes and control of Congress, but my attention zone is a bit narrower: What will the results mean for our transportation system? (Being a firm believer that all politics is local.) In Maryland, will a Democratic governor place a greater focus on the two transit projects in our region and on support of the Metro system? Chances are the Martin O'Malley administration will pick light rail over bus rapid transit for the Corridor Cities Transitway and the Bicounty Transitway. (In fact, we may go back to calling that Bethesda-New Carrollton route the Purple Line.) An O'Malley administration will have to decide not only on the routes but on the funding for those projects. How much will political geography count for? Will the former Baltimore mayor favor the city's Red Line and other projects that benefit that portion of his base? Will he...
By Robert Thomson | November 10, 2006; 6:35 AM ET | Comments (30)
Friday's No Holiday For Metro
Metro is one of the nation's most heavily used transit systems, and that applies to holidays, as well. The transit authority looked at its ridership numbers and over the summer decided to run a regular weekday schedule on four holidays. The next one coming up is Friday, the federal observance of Veterans Day. Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess will all be on their regular weekday schedules, collecting regular fares and parkign fees. The other days that are no longer holidays for Metro because of the high ridership are Columbus Day, Martin Luther King Day and Presidents Day....
By Robert Thomson | November 9, 2006; 6:22 AM ET | Comments (19)
New Kicks on I-66
Travelers have been using that wider new section of I-66 around Manassas for only a few hours now, and already I've heard from a commuter complaining about a new chokepoint forming around exit 43, which is the Route 29 exit. He says westbound drivers heading home tonight will have to squeeze down from the wider, four-lane section to two lanes just a short way before they exit for Route 29. This morning, he said, the eastbound drivers heading from Route 29 onto I-66 found the experience as bad as ever for the first three-tenths of a mile on the interstate before it opens up, thanks to the widening. The next phase of the widening, to Gainesville, is scheduled to begin in the spring, as Eric Weiss reported in today's Post. These days, most of our highway projects are done in phases. The improvements to Route 29 in the Maryland suburbs...
By Robert Thomson | November 8, 2006; 11:15 AM ET | Comments (14)
Bumper Politics
The election may be over, but I wanted to share with you a letter that is timeless in terms of the point it makes about common courtesy. This was a followup to a letter I ran in my column on Oct. 29: Dear Dr. Gridlock: We tried to keep a favorite on our car: "Friends don't let friends vote Republican." Living in very liberal Arlington, but on a completely Republican block, except for us, we thought it was a great bumper sticker with a sense of humor. The first time we had it, the kids were little and we were stopped at a red light when a man in the car in front of us, Mercedes with the top down, got out of his car and in a heavily-laced alcoholic breath, proceeded to send nothing but expletive deleteds into our open windows. Kids were in shock, but I gracefully replied:...
By Robert Thomson | November 8, 2006; 6:30 AM ET | Comments (9)
Turning on the Hydrant
Eric Weiss writes in today's Post about an encouraging trend: Local governments are stepping in where the states are failing. They're financing and building transportation improvements. These are investments that Virginia and Maryland should be making, but when the house is burning, you can't stand around arguing about who's going to hook up to the hydrant. Inaction at the state level -- particularly in Virginia -- is leaving the governments in the Washington suburbs with little choice. Either they arrange for the necessary transportation improvements themselves, or they won't happen. If they don't happen, current and future residents won't enjoy the benefits of the mobile society that some of us are old enough to remember. Two rapidly growing outer suburbs have bond money on their ballots today: In Prince William County, there's a $300 million bond to improve Routes 1 and 28 and some other roads. In Loudoun County, there's...
By Robert Thomson | November 7, 2006; 8:13 AM ET | Comments (3)
Traffic Officers On Duty at Midday
Some of you who leave your offices for lunch in downtown Washington have been telling me there's something different in the air: the sound of whistles. In fact, you're right. The District's Department of Public Works figured out it had enough traffic control officers between the morning and evening rush hour shifts to start a midday patrol at 16 dowtown intersections. I saw three of them working last week at Connecticut Avenue and K Street. One officer took the center of the intersection and the other two monitored crosswalks, where the lunchtime crowding was heavy. Another three officers were right nearby at 17th Street and Connecticut. That's a lot of whistles. The DPW program is two years old. It used to be that if you saw the traffic officers at midday, they were trainees, getting their first experience before being assigned to the more demanding rush hour shifts. But since...
By Robert Thomson | November 6, 2006; 8:10 AM ET | Comments (15)
Fixing What We've Got
Robert Flanagan, Maryland's transportation secretary, and State Highway Administrator Neil Pedersen presented their transportation improvement plan in Montgomery County last night. The intercounty connector stands out as one of the few brand new roadways planned for the Washington region. In the Maryland suburbs, roads will be widened and straightened and made more efficient. That's expensive enough. Same pattern holds in Virginia. The widening of I-66 and the interchange construction on Route 28 are examples of Northern Virginia's big roadway projects. Most of the brand new things in Maryland will be transit lines -- either bus rapid transit or light rail, according to the state's plan. There's the Red Line in Baltimore. And in the Washington suburbs, there's the Bicounty Transitway, or Purple Line, and the Corridor Cities Transitway. Big problem for us will be that the three projects are scheduled to enter their construction phases about the same time in...
By Robert Thomson | November 3, 2006; 8:04 AM ET | Comments (15)
Metro Chief Holds Final Chat
Dan Tangherlini, who is wrapping up his term as Metro's interim general manager before becoming D.C. city administrator, is holding his final chat on Metro's Web site from noon to 1 p.m. on Friday. You can ask him questions about any part of the transit system, or offer a comment on what you think of the service. In case you want to see transcrips of his previous chats, they're also posted on Metro's Web site. Next week, Jack Requa, the chief operating officer for Metrobus, will take over the general manager's job until a permanent successor is chosen by the Metro board....
By Robert Thomson | November 3, 2006; 6:29 AM ET | Comments (4)
Major Roadwork This Weekend
Big traffic delays are likely this weekend because the National Park Service plans to close Memorial Circle on the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge, near Arlington National Cemetery. This is part of the rehabilitation work going on between Arlington National Cemetery and the Memorial Bridge, which leads across the Potomac to the Lincoln Memorial. The closing is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Friday and continue until noon Sunday, weather permitting. Barring traffic from Memorial Circle will have a ripple effect, so you probably won't want to be anywhere near there. To get across the river, take the 14th Street Bridge, the Roosevelt Bridge or the Key Bridge. If you plan to visit the national cemetery or the Memorial to Women in Military Service to America, take Route 110. Access to Memorial Bridge will be cut at several points in the District to accommodate the work: Rock Creek &...
By Robert Thomson | November 2, 2006; 6:22 AM ET | Comments (16)
Seeking Holiday Travel Tips
I've gotten so many good suggestions on detours and alternative routes for those who travel north on I-95, that I thought I'd package them into an advice column for holiday travelers this month. Most of my holiday trips take me to New Jersey, New York and New England, and readers had plenty of advice for dodging stretches of I-95 or ditching it completely for the sake of less traveled and less tolled highways. But I'm wondering if some of you might have suggestions for people traveling to the west and south, as well. What should Washingtonians know if they're headed out I-70 or 81? Or traveling south on I-95? My plan is to try packing a lot of information into an upcoming Dr. Gridlock column on Sunday, Nov. 12, in time for Thanksgiving planning....
By Robert Thomson | November 1, 2006; 6:32 AM ET | Comments (26)
