Archive: August 2007
Thinking About September
Dear Dr. Gridlock: It is time to remind drivers that it is getting dark earlier, and dark-colored cars with no lights against asphalt roads are not visible even though there may be light in the sky still. I changed lanes in front of a dark-colored car with no lights. The driver put on the brakes, but if I had seen it, I would not have pulled over to the right. Georgia Weatherhead Springfield On Sept. 1, the sun will set at 7:39 p.m. By the end of the month, it will set at 6:53 p.m. Back on June 29, it was 8:38 p.m. We'll fall back to Standard Time on Nov. 4. From the Virginia driver's manual: "At sunset, as soon as light begins to fade, turn on your headlights to make your vehicle more visible to others. You must use headlights from sunset to sunrise." Motorists must use headlights...
By Robert Thomson | August 27, 2007; 5:31 AM ET | Comments (30)
Reaching the Beach By Rail?
Thinking about the beach as summer winds down has got me in a mood to share a rebuttal letter in response to a Dr. Gridlock column in which I downplayed the potential for rail service between the Washington area and Ocean City as a way of easing traffic congestion. The writer invites us to "think innovatively but practically" about transportation options. Dear Dr. Gridlock: I think you were wrong to dismiss a rail line from Love Point [on Kent Island] to Ocean City. You were rignt that it is a lower priority than the Purple Line or the Corridor Cities light rail line but you are wrong to thinik of it as a small pie with only so many pieces to cut out and distribute. Transprtation is part of our distribution system. It is an economic issue as well as an engineering issue. If the rail line less costly than...
By Robert Thomson | August 21, 2007; 5:40 AM ET | Comments (407)
Anti-HOT Lane Petition Online
A commuter from Prince William County wrote in to advise us that opponents of the process Virginia is following to create express toll lanes along I-95/395 have a petition online. I'll discuss that in an upcoming Dr. Gridlock column, but I thought some of you might like to hear about it now and have an online link. Dear Dr. Gridlock: The citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia are tired of the secretive nature of the study regarding the conversion of the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes to Hight Occupancy or Toll lanes on I-95. The Virginia Department of Transportation and Fluor Daniels, the contractor, have had numerous "public" meetings at which they tell the citizens of Virginia how this system will work, but they refuse to hold an open forum to allow direct questions from the citizens of Northern Virginia and provide answers to those questions. It appears that the conversion...
By Robert Thomson | August 20, 2007; 5:58 AM ET | Comments (367)
Letter From Fed-Up Metro Rider
This letter came in on Aug. 1 from an Arlington commuter who gave up on Metro. He starts off describing a particular incident, but it wasn't this one thing that led him to switch to his car. I'm a big fan of transit, but I know that day-after-day crowding and delays on Metro wear people down. See what you think of a fellow commuter's thought process. Dear Dr. Gridlock: Tonight on my commute from Navy Yard to Clarendon, I saw an altercation on the Orange Line. As we approached Rosslyn, a male rider started to try to get to the doors a few seconds before the train stopped. As the train was packed, I can't say I blamed him. More than once I've missed exiting my train at Clarendon because of the number of folks clustered around the doors. Unfortunately for this gentleman, he stumbled and bumped into a woman....
By Robert Thomson | August 17, 2007; 5:17 AM ET | Comments (110)
Warning Sign Added Before Beltway Ramp
Maryland's highway administration said today that it took a step to help drivers confused by the new traffic pattern at a Capital Beltway exit in Silver Spring. A new message board is in place before Exit 29 on the outer loop reading "MD 193 east and west - use exit 29." Motorists who follow those directions will arrive at a rebuilt ramp, now controlled by a traffic light, which takes drivers either east or west onto Route 193 (University Boulevard). Watch for rough pavement at Beltway's new Exit 29 intersection with University Boulevard. (Robert Thomson) The green overhead signs on the outer loop had been changed to reflect the new pattern, in which the rebuilt ramp does the job formerly performed by two ramps, which were designated A and B. The second one, which used to take drivers east on University toward Langley Park, is now closed. "Before the [rebuilt]...
By Robert Thomson | August 16, 2007; 1:04 PM ET | Comments (6)
Give Them a Brake
The Maryland State Highway Administration yesterday urged drivers to be cautious when they pass through work zones following the deaths of two members of a highway crew and the injury of three other men on Route 29 in Burtonsville this week. The five, employees of PDI Sheetz of Linthicum Heights, were working on a bridge patching project along Route 29 over the Patuxent River. Manuel De Jesus Gonzalez-Geronimo, 31, was driving a north on Route 29 at about 1 p.m. on Monday when his van struck a truck, then pinned the five workers who were sitting on a guardrail north of Route 198, near the Howard County line, The Post reported. Martin Ruffin, 30, of Baltimore and James Cronin, 37, of Glen Burnie were fatally injured. Two other men are in critical condition. Gonzalez-Geronimo, who police said is an unlicensed driver in the country illegally, fled after the accident but...
By Robert Thomson | August 15, 2007; 4:43 PM ET | Comments (3)
Use Caution at Beltway Interchange
For many drivers used to taking the exit from the Beltway's outer loop onto University Boulevard in Montgomery County, the new traffic pattern will come as a complete surprise. Old ramp to eastbound University Boulevard now shut. (Robert Thomson) The new ramp from the Capital Beltway outer loop to University Boulevard (Exit 29) is completely operational now, including the traffic light at the top of the ramp that controls traffic heading east and west on University. I drove it three times this morning, and it seemed to work fine. On the ramp, two lanes go east and two go west. But if you're used to the old traffic pattern at that Silver Spring interchange, which involved an Exit A and an Exit B, then watch out: The second ramp, the Exit B that used to take drivers east toward Langley Park and College Park, is now closed. This eliminates a...
By Robert Thomson | August 15, 2007; 12:07 PM ET | Comments (8)
Unpleasant Epilogue to Movie
If you're going to this week's outdoor film festival at Strathmore Hall in North Bethesda, remember that the movies are free, but the parking in the Metro garage is not. Dear Dr. Gridlock: Here is a complaint I just sent to Metro. I was too annoyed to send it Saturday, but I've cooled down enough to be coherent now. "From about 10:40 p.m. until 11:23 p.m. Friday night, I was trapped in the parking garage at Grovsenor-Strathmore station. Someone who walked to the exit to see what was going on said that all 4 exit gates were blocked by cars that did not have [SmarTrip] cards. I don't know how many people were inconvenienced -- well over a hundred from what I could see. You need to authorize parking employees to let cars out -- even if you lose a few parking fares -- rather than hold numerous customers hostage...
By Robert Thomson | August 15, 2007; 5:02 AM ET | Comments (33)
Whitehurst Ramp Closed
The ramp from Interstate 66 and the Potomac River Freeway to the Whitehurst Freeway is shut until Aug. 24 for maintenance and emergency repairs, the District Department of Transportation says. DDOT plans to close the ramp again during a second phase of the project during September and October. On two Fridays, Sept. 7 and Sept. 21, the ramp will be closed from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Then it will be shut down again from Monday, Oct. 1, through Friday, Oct. 5. Here's the detour plan from I-66/Potomac Freeway (watch for signs): -- Make a left to exit onto Rock Creek Parkway, -- Bear right at the yield sign on 27th Street NW, -- Turn left onto Whitehurst Freeway. Thanks to blogger "Woodley Park" for pointing out that I had omitted this project from my list of traffic advisories in a previous entry. Woodley also said that the ramp closure...
By Robert Thomson | August 14, 2007; 5:01 AM ET | Comments (14)
Accident Blocks Lanes on U.S. 29
A serious accident occurred Northbound on Route 29 at Dustin Road just south of the Patuxent River. Lanes are blocked each way, according to Maptuit....
By Laura Cochran, washingtonpost.com | August 13, 2007; 1:49 PM ET | Email a Comment
New Light at Beltway Ramp
Drivers should be on the lookout this week for a new traffic signal at University Boulevard and the Capital Beltway in Silver Spring. It's part of a $1.6 million reconstruction project that is still just a little more than half done, but many readers have been asking what's up here. Their basic question is, Why do we need another traffic light? What the state hopes this will do is improve safety and ease congestion on the Beltway's outer loop at a cloverleaf interchange designed for a bygone era. Drivers entering and exiting the outer loop have been using the same merge lane, creating a tight weaving pattern in which they have to make split second guesses about what other drivers are going to do while rapidly accelerating or decelerating (or sometimes both). Police recorded 11 crashes there from 2003 to 2005, said Chuck Gischlar, a spokesman for the Maryland State...
By Robert Thomson | August 13, 2007; 5:09 AM ET | Comments (35)
A Week's Worth of Travel Advisories
Here are some developments that may affect your travels this weekend and next week. Bypass, Park and Ride Done Maryland officials this week celebrated the opening of the Hughesville Bypass and completion of a park and ride center in La Plata. The four-lane bypass, begun in 2004 and completed at a cost of $56 million, breaks a traffic bottleneck on Route 5. The $5.7 million park-and-ride center is the first of six for commuters who want to take the Maryland Transit Administration buses to Washington. Bus routes 901 and 907 will stop at the La Plata park-and-ride starting Monday, Aug. 13. Metro Weekend Work Metro says it will shut down the Yellow Line bridge over the Potomac this weekend to do track maintenance and an annual bridge inspection. Track maintenance on the Red and Orange lines and new rail car testing on the Green Line also will cause delays. Because...
By Robert Thomson | August 10, 2007; 5:38 AM ET | Comments (6)
Metro Preparing for D.C. United Crowd
The 7 p.m. soccer game at RFK Stadium between D.C. United and the Los Angeles Galaxy is a sellout, in anticipation of the only Washington appearance this season by the Galaxy's David Beckham. So even though it's August, the evening commute may be crowded for many. Metro, which has gotten used to handling the crowds for Nationals baseball at RFK, has made plans to transport many of tonight's 45,000 soccer fans: There will be extra trains, more Metro staffers and police to direct people and answer questions and a free shuttle bus service from outside the stadium to Union Station after the game. Metro's afternoon rush service will begin at 3 p.m. In case you just go for the big games and aren't a regular fan, the closest stop is Stadium-Armory Station on the Blue and Orange lines. (Here's a link to the rail system map.) The exit closest to...
By Robert Thomson | August 9, 2007; 5:12 AM ET | Comments (22)
GW Northbound Lanes Re-Opened
All northbound lanes on the George Washington Memorial Parkway are now opened. An earlier accident involving an overturned vehicle occurred in the right lane at about 8:45 a.m., according to Maptuit reports....
By Laura Cochran, washingtonpost.com | August 8, 2007; 9:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
Advice on Today's Travels
These are some advisories from transportation officials, travel experts and just plain commuters about getting around in today's hot weather. -- It's another Code Orange day, so the bus rides in Northern Virginia are again free. -- Cars are stressed. By 4 p.m. Tuesday, the call volume was again soaring at AAA Mid-Atlantic's emergency switchboard, said John Townsend, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. More than 40 percent requested towing, indicating mechanical breakdowns. Almost a quarter involved starting problems and about 15 percent were related to tires that popped in the extreme heat. -- Suburban rail riders probably already know to expect slower trips because of heat restrictions and the summertime plague of equipment breakdowns. But Metrorail riders also will fnd their trips slowed on the above ground lines. As it did Tuesday, Metro has switched from automatic train control to operator control and told the operators to slow the trains to...
By Robert Thomson | August 8, 2007; 8:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
Travel Tips for Hot Days
Here's some advice for a day when the forecast calls for high temperatures approaching 100 degrees and air quality bad enough to rate a Code Orange. -- The buses in Northern Virginia are free, because of the Code Orange alert. (That includes the Metrobuses that run in Northern Virginia, but none of our other jurisdictions participates in this free ride program on Code Orange days. You know a bus line is participating when you see the farebox covered, but they usually display signs saying, "Code Orange Day, Ride Free.") -- MARC train passengers are likely to be slowed by CSX heat restrictions, which reduce train speeds for safety during times when high heat may bend the rails. But VRE seems to have worked out a way with CSX this year to reduce the delays caused by these afternoon restrictions. Both lines have problems with equipment that breaks down in the...
By Robert Thomson | August 7, 2007; 8:24 AM ET | Comments (10)
Summer Eases Commuter Strain
We printed very brief excerpts on our Sunday commuter page from your letters about the August commute. But I thought you'd like to see the full comments. Notice that our commuters see the summer commute as a chance to break the pattern. Notice also the sense of liberation when they don't have to take transit. They're simply doing what works best for them in these circumstances. Dear Dr. Gridlock: I noticed that my commute to work from Germantown was much quicker than usual back in June, as soon as Montgomery County schools ended their year. The drive to the Shady Grove Metro takes only 15 minutes as opposed to 25 or 30, and I feel like I have options to use as well; I dare not try I-270 during the school year at even 7:15 a.m. I even tailor when I leave home during the school year to avoid school...
By Robert Thomson | August 6, 2007; 7:31 AM ET | Comments (6)
Metro GM Apologizes For Delays
Metro issued an apology to its riders today for yesterday afternoon's extensive delays on the Blue and Orange lines downtown. (Metro GM John Catoe Jr. talked about it during an online chat at noon today on Metro's Web site.) Here's part of what he said: "Let me say that I am sorry that so many of you were inconvenienced last night traveling on the Blue and Orange Lines. I have received comments from so many of you, and when you're delayed on Metro, I understand how you feel. I travel on Metrorail myself, and I understand that you want to know why. Although, I can't give you back the time spent on your commute last night, I would like to explain to you what happened. "At 5:26 last night, the brakes of a Blue Line train locked as it was traveling between Foggy Bottom and Rosslyn. There was an Orange...
By Robert Thomson | August 3, 2007; 12:21 PM ET | Comments (25)
MD Bridge Closing for Rehab
Another one of the region's bridges is scheduled to undergo a rehabilitation project this summer. The Maryland State Highway Administration plans to shut down the Central Avenue bridge over the Patuxent River on Monday for a $3 million project scheduled to last until late fall. The 72-year-old, two-lane steel truss bridge on the Prince George's-Anne Arundel line carries nearly 11,000 vehicles daily. Though it lacks the scale of the Douglass and Legion bridges, the rehab project caused some of the same concerns among the commuters who use it on their way toward Washington and now will have to use detours. Some in the Davidsonville area would have prefered that the state find a way to work only at night or keep the bridge partly open to traffic during rush periods. But the state figured it was best to get in, get it done and get out of a project that...
By Robert Thomson | August 3, 2007; 5:26 AM ET | Comments (8)
Progress on Douglass Bridge
While some of you are sitting in traffic on I-295 and Pennsylvania Avenue because of the Douglass Bridge shutdown, construction crews are working two 10-hour shifts each day to get the rehabilitation job done on schedule. Bridge workers maneuver concrete form near new intersection. (Robert Thomson) Ardeshir Nafici, the acting associate director of the District Department of Transportation, and project manager Chase Cox led a tour Wednesday morning across the top of the bridge. If you do a 360-degree turn up there, the Anacostia waterfront area looks like one continuous work zone, and that's been one of the challenges on the bridge project: Coordinating with the utility companies and developers who also are working along the South Capitol Street corridor on projects like the new Nationals stadium. Ardeshir Nafici, left, and Chase Cox discuss the project. (Robert Thomson) Nafici says that's been going remarkably well, and the bridge reconstruction is...
By Robert Thomson | August 2, 2007; 5:25 AM ET | Comments (8)
Your August Commute
We have begun the month in which we're supposed to have the easiest time getting to and from work. It's August, that pleasant period before vacationing families return and school resumes. Your commute is less unpleasant than normal. I hope that's true. Or is it just different? The Douglass Bridge shutdown was planned for the time when commuting plunges by about 12 percent, thanks to vacationers. That made sense, unless, perhaps, you're stuck on I-295 heading for the 11th Street Bridge detour. Metrorail's ridership also drops off in August, so you may be waiting on a less-crowded platform, but one that's much too hot for office attire. Help us understand these variables, as part of a feature we're planning for The Post's commuter page, on page 2 of Sunday's Metro section. I'll bet many of you keep track, and have some long-term perspective on what happens to the commute as...
By Robert Thomson | August 1, 2007; 5:19 AM ET | Comments (16)
