Wednesday, October 3, 2012
A ramp connecting I-66 to I-495 will close on Friday, Oct. 12.
Depending on the way you get to work, your morning commute may be getting a little bit longer starting in a few weeks. The HOV ramp connecting the eastbound lanes of Interstate 66 to the Capital Beltway will close following morning rush hour on Friday, Oct. 12 and re-open later this year as an Express Lanes ramp. A spokesman for Virginia Megaprojects explained in a press statement, "HOV-drivers affected by this new traffic pattern are urged to follow highway message signs that will be in place along I-66, approaching I-495. Drivers should expect additional delays in this area for several weeks, and should allow extra time in their commutes." For details about the Express Lanes, how they work and when they are planned to open for drivers, …
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The one constant about life in Northern Virginia is traffic. Should you work from home?
Living in Northern Virginia means dealing with traffic. The concept of "rush hour" is lost when commuters jam the roads from 5 a.m. until 7 p.m. and a single accident, broken-down car or construction zone can bring everything to a standstill at times. So, maybe it's time to make the business case to your boss to allow you to telework? The many benefits of telework for the employee Teleworking is also good for employers Not all of us can telework Some workers need to be there either because of the nature of the job (nurses, retail, trades, etc.) or the nature of the facilities. You also may not have the required tools to do the job. Your home may not have a fast and reliable internet connection. There may not be a place in your home that …
Friday, September 7, 2012
Commuters who buy transponders in September 2012 could win two free weeks of travel in January.
Commuters who sign up for an E-ZPass transponder during September will be eligible for two weeks of free travel when the I-495 Express Lanes open later this year. All travelers who wish to use the express lanes when they open will need an E-ZPass or an E-ZPass Flex, said Pierce Coffee, marketing director at Transurban-Fluor, and the promotion is an incentive for new users to get their tags before the lanes are operational. "People are busy with their daily lives, so they wait until the last minute to get their E-ZPass, and then they might not be able to get it in time for [the lanes'] opening," she said. “So what we want to do is entice people to get their EZ-Pass before the road is open later this year so that they have it — it's in their…
Monday, September 3, 2012
For Labor Day, Patch examines why some professionals are willing to travel hundreds of miles every week for work.
At 5 a.m. three days a week, Mark Schofield wakes up in his home in Washington, D.C. to prepare for his commute—to Philadelphia. By 6:15 a.m., he grabs a cup of coffee from the Starbucks in Washington’s Union Station. “The coffee there is stronger” than on Amtrak train No. 130, he says. It’s no wonder he needs a potent blast of caffeine: Schofield spends more than 15 hours riding each week to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. From there he catches a local train to his job at Haverford College in Delaware County. The commute adds roughly two and a half hours and 140 miles onto both ends of a 9-to-5 workday. His three-day commute, roundtrip, totals 840 miles—roughly the distance between Washington and Orlando, FL. For Schofield, and …
Thursday, August 9, 2012
The 2050 Countywide Transit Network Study seeks resident input on transportation options
Residents have one more chance to weigh in on the future of transportation in Fairfax County. The 2050 Countywide Transit Network Study, launched last month by the department of transportation to determine how public transit system expansion plans can best meet the county’s goals for long-term economic growth, will close to the public Aug. 10. "An objective of the study is to develop an inter-connected rapid transit system network that gets people where they need to go that connects with transit in Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun and Prince William [counties]," said Tom Burke, a senior transportation planner in the county’s DOT, at a public meeting in Fairfax last month. The 25-question online survey asks questions ranging from what makes…
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The road will be paved as part of the ongoing interchange project at the Fair Lakes and Fairfax County Parkways.
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Wednesday, August 8, 2012
From 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10 through 4 a.m. Monday, Aug. 13, the ramps from eastbound and westbound I-66 to southbound Fairfax County Parkway (Route 286) will be closed for paving as part of the ongoing interchange project at Fair Lakes and Fairfax County Parkway. The following signed detours will direct drivers: From westbound I-66: Route 29 (Exit 52) north to access the Fairfax County Parkway. See a map of the route. From eastbound I-66: Route 50 west (Exit 57B) to southbound West Ox Road (Route 608) to the Fairfax County Parkway. See a map of the detour route. Drivers may also take the northbound Fairfax County Parkway (Exit 55), turn right on Fair Lakes Parkway, and right on West Ox Road back to the Fairfax County Parkway. Click here …
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Members of the Birch Pond Homeowner's Association say that there have been many accidents at the intersection of Route 50 and Rugby Road.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Traffic projects designed to ease commuters’ congestion
There is an old joke that says Northern Virginia will someday be a really great place, once they get all the roads built. That is especially true for Centreville and Chantilly as crews launch projects this summer to ease traffic congestion. In an update on local construction, County Supervisor Michael Frey said the Sully District will see multiple projects over the next two years to obliterate long-standing roadway bottlenecks that are the bane of the daily commute. “We are going to see a lot of projects that will probably make it a bit easier to get around,” Frey said. “Some of them have been coming for years.” I-66/Route 28 Projects The county has been working on a number of projects to reduce congestion on local streets, Frey said. At …
Thursday, June 14, 2012
You can find comprehensive travel information via VDOT's 511 service on your phone, the web and now as an app for iOS and Android devices.
Last month, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) announced that their 511 service is now available for Android phones and tablets and Apple's iPhones and iPads as a free app. The service was previously available via phone calls to the 511 number and on the web at www.511virginia.org. As we all too well know, summertime travel on Virginia roads can be unpredictable. There are of course some known knowns, to paraphrase a former Secretary of Defense, such as I-95 South will be a parking lot every Friday from 2 p.m. onward. But when you encounter stalled traffic on a late evening mid-week as you try to run errands or when you find out too late that there are going to be periodic lane closures on the beltway to accommodate …
Mark Harnet
5:01 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012
They built a wonderfull (express) two lane bridge connecting dulles access to 495 but did NADA to alleviate congestion for the main road, where all the traffic is. Why have an empty access road? more ›