Dealing With Douglass Bridge Shutdown
The first commute for drivers who had been using the District's now-closed Frederick Douglass Bridge at South Capitol Street included a car accident on inbound Interstate 295, congestion on the nearby roads and highways and some very confused motorists.
Cone forest at Firth Sterling Avenue, just before the I-295 overpass. (Robert Thomson)The worst backup I saw was on I-295, behind that early-morning accident that blocked the right lane heading north. Though the lanes were open around 7 a.m., the highway traffic never did fully recover from that. The lane blockage might have reduced congestion for a while at the crucial merge point just beyond the accident scene where traffic from the Suitland Parkway and South Capitol Street enters 295.
Here are some quick impressions:
-- That short extra lane the District paved on the right side of 295 just south of the 11th Street Bridge is a big help if you're trying to get from Suitland Parkway to 295 and 395 southbound over the 11th Street Bridge. Be sure to stay to the right if you're heading for the bridge. If you move left one lane, you'll face a difficult merge with 295 traffic also trying to get onto the bridge. Plus, some drivers in that lane will be trying to merge left so they can head north beyond the bridge.
-- A District traffic control officer stationed in the middle of Firth Sterling Avenue and Howard Road made life a lot easier for many of us. That intersection is a hot spot for this big detour.
-- Traffic heading outbound and south toward the Beltway flowed freely, but watch out for potential backups at the exit for Howard Road. It's probably best to stay to the left until you're past that exit.
-- At the foot of the Howard Road ramp from outbound 295, the right lane is blocked off, moving traffic into a lane with a white left turn arrow on the pavement, but you still can make a right to enter the Anacostia Metro parking garage. Many drivers who do turn left there are making a loop under the highway so they can get back to the northbound side of 295.
To reach 11th Street Bridge from inbound 295, take the lane to right. (Robert Thomson)-- In all our reports, we talk about the 11th Street Bridge as the main detour, but I didn't see any green and white signs on 295 that actually say "11th Street Bridge." The ones I saw point you to 395 and the Navy Yard. That's what you want if your following the main detour across the 11th Street Bridge toward downtown Washington.
-- The worst jam I was in: Suitland Parkway in the mile before drivers reach the junction with I-295. We crawled from 6:56 a.m. to 7:20 before making the right turn toward 295 at Firth Sterling. (Before reaching that point, plenty of drivers were bailing out onto Sheridan Road toward Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.)
-- Once you get to the 11th Street Bridge, you should be fine. The bridge is the same two lanes it was before. It's slow, but it was moving pretty well the two times I crossed it this morning.
-- I saw plenty of MTA commuter buses that were stuck in the same inbound traffic as everyone else on 295. (The MTA says adjustments to the schedules on Routes 902, 904, 905 and 913 take effect on Monday. The buses that have added stops at a Metrorail station will have a lime green and black Metro sign in their windows.)
Rescue work after accident blocked right lane on I-295 inbound. (Robert Thomson)-- The Green Line train I boarded at Branch Avenue was jammed full by the time it reached Southern Avenue. Then it got more crowded. There was no relief till the train reached L'Enfant Plaza and about half the passengers got out. Still, the next inbound train that passed had about a dozen standees per car. So if the train pulling into your platform is jammed, you might have better luck waiting for the next one.
-- The Anacostia Metro station had plenty of parking remaining at 9 a.m. You'll have to pass through some traffic congestion to get there, though.
-- Next week is the real test: There was the accident today and plenty of drivers were confused by the new patterns, but the weather was fine and the traffic extra light because of the July 4 holiday week.
Erik Linden, spokesman for the District Department of Transportation, gave this report on today's activities:
Workers started milling the bridge, did some demolition work and started putting jacks on the bridge supports to prepare for lowering the northern portion of the elevated roadway later this month.
"We're going to redouble our efforts to keep truck traffic off the residential streets in the Southeast neighborhood," he said. "We are also going to step up signage along South Capitol Street on the cross streets like N and Eye so motorists crossing understand the bridge is closed."
Also, DDOT plans to put a traffic control officer at South Capitol and M streets. "We noticed this was a hotspot for traffic gathering," Linden said.
Other adjustments may follow as DDOT monitors the impact of the shutdown. "The project will undoubtedly evolve as it moves forward," he said.
Tell us what your commute was like. You can post here, of course, or write to me at drgridlock@washpost.com. (If you e-mail me with questions or comments for my newspaper column, please include your name, home community and a contact phone number. The bridge congestion is a priority, and I'll try to get in many letters.)
By |
July 6, 2007; 9:43 AM ET
Construction
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Posted by: Troylet | July 6, 2007 11:39 AM
Dr. Gridlock, One question and one comment regarding this project:
(1) First, why is the right exit lane from 295-South to Howard Road blocked off? This ramp is excruciatingly congested (even without the Douglass bridge shutdown). As you note, if for nothing else, the lane should be open to allow for right turns into the Metro station. And while they are at it, why not get rid of the "No Turn on Red" signage as well; I use to find myself stuck at the bottom of that ramp at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon because I couldn't go right on red, even though there was not a pedestrian or car insight on Howard Road.
It be even better if the lanes on Howard Rd could accommodate a double-left turn from the 295-South exit ramp to Howard Rd (eastbound) given the very high amount of turnaround traffic at this series of ramps. But that is probably asking too much given the history of the folks at DDOT.
(2) For all fellow commuters trying to turn around and get from 295 South to 395, avoid the Howard Road exit. (The light at the bottom of that ramp sometimes is the culprit for gridlock on 395-North across the 14th Street bridge from VA. I recall two recent evenings when the signal at the end of the Howard Rd ramp was short timing causing a delay from Pentagon City, across the Freeway, to the 11th street bridge and down 295 to the Howard Rd exit. My calls, along with calls from colleagues to DDOT, were never returned, why am I not surprised?) The signal at the bottom of the ramp from 295-S to Howard Rd has historically been poorly timed from the standpoint of folks exiting from 295-South. Outside of rushhour, there is generally very little traffic on Howard Rd through this intersection.
So I suggest avoiding Howard Rd to do the 295 South to 395 South "turn around", instead go a half-mile further down 295 South and ride the Suitland Parkway ramps. Get off 295 for Suitland Parkway (east) and then stay in the exit lane which becomes the entrance ramp back to 295 North. Then, the 395 South exits are dead-ahead once you re-enter 295 North.
Posted by: Chesapeake Beach commuter | July 6, 2007 12:08 PM
From Dr. Gridlock: Troylet, I'm real interested -- and I'm sure others are, too -- in what this does to the commuter bus times, both inbound and outbound. Please keep us all posted on that. Also, I'm curious whether some drivers take the advice to temporarily give up their cars and ride the buses instead. If the buses seem extra crowded, please let us know about that, too.
Posted by: Robert Thomson | July 6, 2007 12:22 PM
I'd be interested in hearing how this affects the traffic at times other than rush hour, too--weekends, for example. I sometimes use I-295 to go to weekend Nationals games, but if the detour messes up the traffic, I'll use I-395. (I just like to go a different way sometimes because I get tired of I-395, which is what I use to commute.)
Posted by: Rich | July 6, 2007 12:25 PM
From Dr. Gridlock: Chesapeake Beach, I like that suggestion on the Howard Road ramp and I'll pass it along to DDOT. This was my initial thought on seeing the setup: Despite the lane blockage and signs, many drivers this morning seemed really confused about not being able to make a right turn toward the Douglass Bridge. (Saw some weird three-point turns in the middle of Howard.) So I thought maybe DDOT was trying one more thing to steer drivers away from that now-useless right turn toward the bridge.
Posted by: Robert Thomson | July 6, 2007 12:31 PM
Things would be simpler if they made Howard Road one-way outbound between South Capitol and the Metro parking lot. Any inbound traffic (to the school or whatever) can detour to Firth Sterling and then to Suitland Parkway inbound -- which should be virtually empty until the bridge reopens.
Posted by: Andrew | July 6, 2007 2:23 PM
I also commute from Southern Maryland on the 902 route. This morning I was at my desk at 8:06 a.m., about 15-20 minutes earlier than normal. The ride home tonight might be another story. I think it was a light Friday and a lot of people took off this week from work.
I'm a convert from driving. When parking rates and gas prices went up, I decided to take the bus. In 7 years of riding the bus, they're raised fares only once. Keep in mind, the State of Maryland subsidizes this service. BUT the people who make up the routes work in Baltimore. They haven't a clue what it's like to drive in DC.
The bus drivers keep in touch with a dispatcher and with each other by phone so if there is a back-up, they can take a detour around it. I'm all for commuters taking the bus. Each bus takes 48 cars off the roads. Parking is free at commuter lots. Saves money, time, wear and tear on your car, and stress on you. If a bus breaks down, another bus can pick us up. If your car breaks down on the commute you have to deal with that yourself and lose a day's work.
Posted by: Another Southern Marylander commuter bus rider | July 6, 2007 4:48 PM
What you saw today is nothing compared with what you are going to see on Monday when everybody gets back from vacation wondering what the heck happened to the Douglass bridge.
I am so glad I don't have to go through there.
Posted by: Bob | July 6, 2007 4:51 PM
I'm concerned that this is going to affect New Hampshire Avenue and Rock Creek Parkway. I think a lot of people taking 295 and 95 from Baltimore and Howard County are going to take New Hampshire Avenue, instead of taking 295 to New York Avenue and points south. Then around Grant Circle (Webster Street,) I think a lot of people will head towards Beach Drive south at Piney Branch and Arkansas. There is incredibly sluggish traffic once you get onto Rock Creek Parkway due to one lane southbound being closed at P street for the bike trail reconstruction. Dr. Gridlock, is there anyway to get the Park Service to allow people to go southbound in the northbound lanes instead of everyone getting diverted to the southbound lanes from beach drive to the mass avenue ramps? And in the evening, keep the northbound lanes open from the Kennedy center to Virgina Avenue?
And, also, when is that construction going to be completed. I am on Rock Creek Parkway all the time anywhere from midnight to midnight and I have never seen a soul working on that project.
Posted by: Chuck | July 7, 2007 12:28 AM
I've been a regular 905 rider for many many years and this morning at least one quarter of the people in my line were people I've not seen before making me think that we'll get increased ridership with the bridge closure. This also regularly happens when gas prices spike.
It seemed to me that most of the newer people were getting onto the bus that made the Branch Avenue Metro stop--which ended up being full before I got to the front of the line. My bus (with no metro stop) was only half full and thankfully we were into downtown very quickly. I hope the light traffic today continues...but it probably won't!
Posted by: Cathy | July 9, 2007 9:07 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
I rode the 905 commuter bus that left Waldorf, Md., at 7:45 a.m. and still got to work downtown before 9 (including a 15-minute walk)! I was pleasantly surprised by today -- I was prepared to spend a while on that bus. I attribute today, though, to light Friday-after-July-4 traffic and plan to catch a bus about a half hour earlier next week -- just to be safe.