Archive: June 2007
Douglass Bridge and Other Advisories
By this time next week, the Frederick Douglass Bridge will be closed for the summer, and drivers who normally use South Capitol Street as their commuting route will be looking for alternatives. MTA and Metro buses that use the bridge also will be diverted to other routes. Some buses will make special stops at Metrorail stations on the east side of the Anacostia River for passengers who want to take the train the rest of the way downtown. The bridge shutdown is scheduled to begin before the Friday morning rush on July 6 and could continue through August, although the District has offered financial incentives to the contractor to finish early. Drivers on I-295 will be diverted north to the 11th Street Bridge. The District has paved an extra lane on the northbound highway before the bridge to handle some extra traffic, but you still should expect extra congestion. The...
By Robert Thomson | June 29, 2007; 8:16 AM ET | Comments (10)
Metro Board Adopts Budget
The Metro board today adopted a new budget today after General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. assured the board members that the spending plan was balanced. Catoe has spoken recently about the possibility of a fare increase as early as January, and that had left some people -- including me -- confused about whether the staff reductions and other money-saving measures imposed by the new GM had indeed balanced the budget. "This budget does not require nor does it seek a fare increase in order to be balanced," Catoe told the board. In response to a follow up question from board member Jim Graham, who represents the District, Catoe added: "My view is that as we look forward into the future, the earlier you have any fare increase -- should one be approved by the board -- would bring in revenues to offset possible deficits in the future." "There's no...
By Robert Thomson | June 28, 2007; 2:04 PM ET | Comments (16)
More Forums Set on Virginia Transportation
The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, which on Sunday will be empowered to use regional taxes for congestion relief, has released an updated list of public forums leading up to its big meeting on July 12. Northern Virginians can use these forums to learn more about the powers of the authority, the projects on its initial to-do list and the ways it plans to raise the money. They can also tell members of the authority's board what they think of those plans. This is the schedule. Thursday: Town hall meeting at 7 p.m. in Verizon Auditorium, George Mason University, Prince William Campus, 10900 University Blvd., Manassas. Speaker sign-up to begin at 6:30 p.m. July 9: Fairfax County Board Chairman Gerry Connolly will brief the board at 10 a.m. in the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax. July 12: The transportation authority holds a public hearing to consider enacting...
By Robert Thomson | June 27, 2007; 7:53 AM ET | Comments (23)
Constitution Goes Two-Way
The District has changed the traffic pattern on Constitution Avenue NE so that the flow is now two ways even during the morning rush, but not everyone seems to have gotten the word. Here's a letter I got on Monday. Dr. Gridlock: There was a shouting match outside my house on Constitution Avenue NE this morning because the city has not provided adequate direction about when the change from one-way to two-way traffic will occur. A solo driver in the eastbound lane came up against a block of traffic that was traveling west in that same eastbound lane, and neither side was prepared to give way. Finally, the lone eastbound driver was allowed to proceed, but westbound cars immediately re-filled the lane behind him. There's going to be more than a shouting match if the city doesn't do a better job of handling the change in traffic pattern. Elaine Goheen...
By Robert Thomson | June 26, 2007; 7:43 AM ET | Comments (41)
In Search of Vacation Routes
Are we there yet? Is it wishful thinking, or are some of our commuter routes starting to show the effects of summer vacation? With the long-distance travel season in mind, I'm looking for suggestions escape routes from Washington to the region's favorite destinations -- north, south, east and west. We'll display some of them on the Post Metro section's Commuter page this Sunday, July 1. The idea will be to give summer travelers an alternative to the typical routes. They don't have to be shortcuts, as in time or mileage savers. They might just be more pleasant routes than the interstates and major highways that most vacationers are used to taking. I just got back from a weekend trip to northern New Jersey. Delaware continues to be the bane of East Coast travelers. The jams on I-95 are not as bad as they were last year, when the western side...
By Robert Thomson | June 25, 2007; 7:20 AM ET | Comments (30)
Virginians Debate Transportation Authority
A couple of dozen people in Leesburg last night offered their opinions on a new taxing and spending program that eventually could affect the travels of hundreds of thousands in Northern Virginia. Despite the relatively small number of speakers, considering the potential impact of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, they outlined some of the basic hopes and tensions that have surrounded the startup of a plan to improve road and rail travel across the suburbs. There will be two more such forums in Falls Church and Manassas next week, leading to a very important meeting of the transportation authority in Falls Church on July 12. The authority will hold a public hearing on the seven new taxes and fees that could be used to finance transportation spending, discuss an initial list of investments and consider financing those investments through authority-issued bonds. Here's a summary of what people talked about last...
By Robert Thomson | June 22, 2007; 6:49 AM ET | Email a Comment
Transportation Authority Moving Quickly
Northern Virginians will have a set of chances, beginning tonight, to learn about a new form of regional government and to say what they want it to do with their money. These are the town hall sessions to discuss the workings of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, which is empowered to impose taxes on local jurisdictions to provide them with road and transit improvements. There's nothing quite like it in Maryland or the District. The regional authority was set up by the Virginia General Assembly and Gov. Mark Warner in 2002 and would have spent money raised by the proposed transportation tax, but the tax was defeated in a referendum that November. But this spring, Gov. Timothy Kaine and the legislature created a new financing plan for transportation improvements and empowered the authority to raise and spend money. Since then the panel has been rushing to carry out its mandate....
By Robert Thomson | June 21, 2007; 8:17 AM ET | Comments (9)
Metro's New Boss Faces Challenges
The start of Metro General Manager John B. Catoe Jr.'s term got caught up in widespread concerns about a spate of accidents involving buses and pedestrians. Yesterday, as his staff handed summaries to reporters of what had been accomplished during his first 100 days, he was explaining a major failure on the Green Line that stalled thousands of commuters during the morning rush. Sometimes during these few months, he said, he had asked himself what he was doing here. "But then I realized what I was doing here," Catoe said. He was here "to fix what was broken." Yesterday's status report on the trains and buses got caught up in the crisis of the moment on the Green Line, which you can read about in Lena Sun's story today. With 37,422 travelers aboard the Green Line during the morning rush, Metro's boss realized the importance of directly addressing their frustrations....
By Robert Thomson | June 20, 2007; 8:59 AM ET | Comments (29)
Free Rides on Green Line This Afternoon
Metro is taking the highly unusual step of offering free rides this afternoon to its Green Line riders, following the extensive delays caused by this morning's power problems. (See story on our Web site.) "Green Line riders will receive free rides this afternoon from 3:30 to 7 p.m. to help make up for the poor service this morning," Metro General Manager John Catoe said in a statement. Green Line service was disrupted from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. because of power problems near Fort Totten. Four trains had to be taken out of service. A separate power problem knocked out a train between Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom during the morning rush. Power has been restored and full service should be available on all lines. "We apologize for this morning's delays," Catoe said in the statement. "Many Metro employees experienced the same delays on their way to work this morning and...
By Robert Thomson | June 19, 2007; 4:01 PM ET | Comments (7)
Your Traveling Week
Here are some notes I hope will help you plan your travels and keep your personal temperature down during this summery week: Metro The Green Line has been a mess since four trains experienced power problems during the morning rush between Fort Totten and West Hyattsville. Since power problems can be brought on by the stress of high temperatures, Metro is monitoring the entire system to see if it needs to make any adjustments in service this afternoon. You may recall that last summer, the time between trains was lengthened during heat waves to make sure that overall service was not interrupted. Metro also is doing routine inspections of the tracks to avoid heat problems. (See MARC item below.) Bad Air, Free Rides Tuesday is another Code Orange Day, indicating poor air quality, which means that buses are free in Northern Virginia. Legion Bridge I've been describing the shortened merge...
By Robert Thomson | June 18, 2007; 9:54 PM ET | Comments (27)
Fairfax Votes For Tysons Rail
The Fairfax County Board voted 8 to 2 this afternoon to help finance construction of a new Metrorail line through Tysons Corner, a crucial step in the county's effort to focus its development on transit stations and move away from its dependence on automobiles. Commuters in Tysons, where 100,000 people work, could see signs of the project as early as September, when workers are scheduled to begin relocating utilities to clear the way for rail line construction along Routes 123 and 7. But several other steps still must occur: The Metro board must agree this month to take control of the rail line when the construction out to Wiehle Avenue is done in 2013, and the Federal Transit Administration must agree to finance $900 million of the $2.647 billion project after a review likely to be done by the end of August. The Fairfax Board today agree to contribute $400...
By Robert Thomson | June 18, 2007; 2:22 PM ET | Comments (35)
Maryland Sets New Commuter Bus Schedules
The Maryland Transit Administration has announced its plans to deal with the July-August shutdown of the Frederick Douglass Bridge on South Capitol Street, a major commuter route into Washington. The MTA's decision is the last part of the transit plan for a construction project that probably will give drivers fits. They'll be diverted to the 11th Street Bridge, East Capitol Street, Benning Road and New York Avenue, none of which is likely to be congestion free, even in the middle of summer. Metro already had announced its bus route changes. Now MTA says that after listening to passengers, it has decided to bring some of its routes into the Branch Avenue and Suitland Metrorail stations for those who wish to transfer to the subway, but continue in and out of dowtown Washington for the other riders willing to tough it out through the congestion. (The buses will be stuck in...
By Robert Thomson | June 18, 2007; 7:15 AM ET | Comments (11)
Explaining Night Paving Hours
A couple of readers raised concerns this week about the nighttime paving along I-95 in Howard County. This job, between Routes 32 and 100, is one of the region's big paving projects. Another example is the overnight work along I-270 near Rockville and Gaithersburg. If you're driving along late at night, maybe coming back from a trip, or just an evening at a movie or concert, and you encounter a paving project, you know that sinking feeling that goes with seeing four lanes of brake lights ahead. This was one reader's comment on a Monday blog entry: Last night we returned from a weekend trip arriving in BWI about 10:30 pm. We took I-95 south and got embedded in one of the worst traffic jams I have ever been in. We were jammed up for about 1 hour before we finally go through the bottle neck where 4 lanes merged...
By Robert Thomson | June 14, 2007; 5:34 AM ET | Comments (13)
Metro Changing Many Bus Routes
The transit authority will modify bus routes throughout the region on June 24, and that won't be the end of it. The Metro board this month will consider staff recommendations to cut serveral more routes in the Maryland suburbs. This is all in addition to the routes that will be changed temporarily because the Douglass Bridge on South Capitol Street will be shut down during July and August. The June 24 changes should please many riders, but certainly not all. Some lines will be extended, some cut back. Some schedules will be adjusted to bring them in line with real travel times, while others will be increased to provide more service. For example, these are the changes that take effect June 24 on the heavily used 16th Street NW Line: "Weekday mornings, additional southbound buses will end at McPherson Square. Between 3 and 6:40 p.m., northbound S4 buses will begin...
By Robert Thomson | June 13, 2007; 8:04 AM ET | Comments (9)
Maryland Starting Beltway Project
Many drivers in Prince George's will welcome Maryland's announcement today that it will rebuilt the Capital Beltway section around the Arena Drive junction so that the interchange can be open permanently, rather than during FedEx Field events only. But improving that three-mile stretch of highway so that the interchange can safely stay open round the clock will require a construction program lasting for 18 months. Beltway drivers should watch for lane closures during off-peak hours. Many of you who attend Redskins football games know this intersection, which was built in 1997, but for the rest, it's just a highway sign. The interchange is open only during stadium events. Federal safety rules barred a permanent opening because two other interchanges were close by and the traffic pattern was disruptive. But that area has been growing, and many Prince George's residents have been looking forward to a solution that would allow a...
By Robert Thomson | June 12, 2007; 1:36 PM ET | Comments (9)
Travel Tips For This Week
Readers and personal experience tell me that our roads and rails are likely to remain crowded till the schools let out and Congress gets out of town. Metrorail was setting ridership records last week, and I don't believe the Nats were responsible. It's convenient to take Metro to RFK, but the parking is pretty easy, too. High temps are forecast to range from the mid-70s to the mid-80s, which should be good news not only for drivers stuck in traffic but also for MARC's Brunswick and Camden Line riders who have already endured numerous slowdowns caused by heat restrictions. Road Work -- There will be some overnight highway delays this week because of paving. Watch for lanes closed overnight on the Capital Beltway's inner loop near Springfield, along Interstate 270 between Rockville and Gaithersburg and on I-95 in Howard County. -- Drivers on Route 29 between University Boulevard and Burnt...
By Robert Thomson | June 11, 2007; 5:08 AM ET | Comments (14)
All Lanes Reopened on GW Parkway
All lanes are now open on the George Washington Memorial Parkway following an earlier incident involving an overturned vehicle, according to traffic alerts provided by Arlington County....
By Laura Cochran, washingtonpost.com | June 8, 2007; 11:28 AM ET | Comments (2)
Is It Summer Yet?
It's after Memorial Day, which we always tell our readers is the start of summer vacation season, when our transportation concerns shift from commuting to long range travel. So far, I'm not seeing it. Are you? Here's what I am seeing: The roads I've traveled on during the past week, like the Capital Beltway, I-66, Routes 7 and 123, East-West Highway, Route 29, Wisconsin Avenue, Connecticut Avenue -- they all seem just as crowded as usual. Metro, too: The midday trains on the Red, Green and Orange lines have plenty of standees. Metrorail reported three exceptionally crowded days this week.Thursday was the eighth highest ridership day in its history, with 793,392 trips taken. Wednesday became the seventh highest ridership day, with 796,087 trips, and Tuesday was the 11th highest, with 783,024 trips. (Metro thinks Nationals baseball had something to do with that. Not from where I was sitting at RFK...
By Robert Thomson | June 8, 2007; 5:06 AM ET | Comments (11)
D.C. Discusses Douglass Bridge Closing
Bottom line for commuters on the temporary closing of the Frederick Douglass Bridge this summer: "No question it's going to be painful." That was the message delivered to reporters this morning by Kathleen Penney, deputy chief engineer for the District Department of Transportation, which is in charge of the bridge reconstruction. South Capitol Street commuters who want to continue driving toward downtown Washington during the shutdown, scheduled to begin the night of July 6, will use the 11th Street Bridge as the primary detour, but also might choose to cross the Anacostia River on East Capitol Street, Benning Road or New York Avenue. If you cross at East Capitol Street you could park at RFK Stadium for $5 a day and take Metrorail or a bus downtown. An additional lane of I-295 between Suitland Parkway and the 11th Street Bridge will be paved to increase traffic capacity. I think most...
By Robert Thomson | June 7, 2007; 12:28 PM ET | Comments (3)
Navigating a New Commute
I've got a request of you experienced D.C. commuters: Help me give good directions to a new Post staffer who assists me on the Dr. Gridlock columns. Mark Berman works out of our downtown Alexandria bureau. He's moving to Woodley Park. Some days, he'll be able to take Metro back and forth, but on others, he'll need his car. Like many people who have either changed jobs or changed residences, he's puzzling through his travel options. What's his best driving route? There are a few options, but they can be crowded during peak times. Should he take Rock Creek Parkway to I-66, cross the river and get onto the George Washington Parkway south? Is that the best path for traffic volume and for reliability? How about Rock Creek to the Memorial Bridge and then onto the GW Parkway southbound? Is the Park Service's construction along Rock Creek causing you drivers...
By Robert Thomson | June 7, 2007; 7:30 AM ET | Comments (15)
Constitution Ave. Closed Near Capitol
D.C. police have shut down Constitution Ave. in both directions between 4th St. NE and Delaware Ave. due to a suspicious package found near the Hart Senate Office Building, according to MapTuit and broadcast reports. The Metropolitan Police Department is trying to determine whether a package found at a private residence is an explosive device, according to TV reports....
By Liz Heron | June 6, 2007; 9:52 AM ET | Comments (3)
Motorcycle Safety Draws Attention
During a Live Online discussion on May 29 and again in my Dr. Gridlock column on Sunday, issues about motorcycle safety arose. Partly influenced by Grid Sister's work over the years with head injury victims, I said in the chat that I did not recommend motorcycling as a way of commuting to and from the District. In the Sunday column, a reader wrote in to warn other cyclists about the dangers of uneven pavement on I-270 and on other roadways under construction. Uneven paving during I-270 resurfacing drew reader concern. (Robert Thomson) Since then, I've received these two letters from cyclists who wanted to discuss aspects Dear Dr. Gridlock: There's a reason (or two) that you see more people interested in bikes here. I guess public transportation is your first love but for some people, myself included, it's not an option and the only viable alternative is motorcycling. Being a...
By Robert Thomson | June 6, 2007; 7:29 AM ET | Comments (63)
Tough Decision on Tysons Rail
This was one weird meeting at the Fairfax Government Center: For about an hour on Monday afternoon, the County Board of Supervisors tried to pry information about the Dulles rail project out of the county's own staff members, some of whom could not answer fully because they were sworn to secrecy about details of the pending contract. Too many secrets. They have plagued the public-private partnership deal to build the rail line. Public responsibility for building it has passed from the state of Virginia to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. When the trains start running, it will become the responsibility of the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority to operate them. Fairfax County, which will have all the stations in the first phase of the project, will be contributing $400 million through a local funding agreement, so the Board of Supervisors must sign off on that at its June 18 meeting. If...
By Robert Thomson | June 5, 2007; 8:16 AM ET | Comments (22)
Fairfax Board Will Vote on Rail Line
The Fairfax County Board this afternoon decided not to delay a June 18 vote that will determine the fate of the Tysons rail project, despite concerns that it has not yet seen the contract for what will be one of the most expensive public works projects in U.S. history and one of the most important transportation programs for the future of Northern Virginia. County government staffers, upon whom the board relies for much of its information about the project, had to sign confidentiality agreements limiting their discussions with the board members. A representative of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which is in charge of the rail project that ultimately is supposed to reach Dulles Airport at a cost now estimated at $5 billion, said the the contract cannot be made public until it is complete. He said he hoped to have copies for the board members by Friday. Many board...
By Robert Thomson | June 4, 2007; 3:24 PM ET | Comments (11)
Re-Routing Some Md. Commuter Buses
We're in the final day of the weekend lane closings on the Frederick Douglass Bridge. The outbound lanes of South Capitol Street are to reopen in time for this afternoon's rush. But the various transportation agencies that bring commuters into Washington and get them home again are making plans for the big July-August shutdown of the entire bridge for reconstruction. The latest agency to announce preparations is the Maryland Transit Administration, which operates commuter buses as well as the MARC trains. Some of the buses will have to be diverted and their schedules adjusted during the reconstruction. The transit administration is asking for comments from Southern Maryland commuters about how this should work This long-planned project is going to have a major impact on thousands of travelers, whether they drive, take Metrorail or buses, so I think Maryland is cutting it a little close in getting its passengers prepped for...
By Robert Thomson | June 4, 2007; 5:03 AM ET | Email a Comment
Travel Obstacles This Weekend
If you're trying to get around Washington this weekend, you'll find some obstacles in your path. Douglass Bridge: The outbound lanes of the South Capitol Street bridge will close tonight after the rush period and won't reopen till just before the afternoon rush on Monday. The main detour is the 11th Street Bridge. This is the last of the weekend closures before the July-August shutdown of the entire bridge. Use this link to get a full description from the District Department of Transportation . Race For the Cure: By all means, attend this great event on Saturday morning, but watch out for the numerous street closures and parking bans in the area along the Mall. You can see a really long list of the effected streets here. Take Metro. The rail system is going to open at 5 a.m. Saturday, two hours earlier than normal. You can read a full...
By Robert Thomson | June 1, 2007; 2:14 PM ET | Comments (7)
