Anyone near DC?-traffic question

[dawz1026]

We hit traffic there all the time and wondered when the WORST time is to travel through...am-pm? We think we may hit that area about 3-4pm if we leave at 10am.If we leave 3am it will be like 8am ??

 

[Melissa_E]

The bonus of getting there in the afternoon vs. the morning is that the HOV lanes will be in your favor (if you have 3+ in the car). If you get there in the morning, the HOV won't. It is still quite busy south of DC towards Lorton, even in the morning.

 

[lovetoscrap]

What day of the week are you talking about? I am not from DC but my in-laws are so I am somewhat familiar with it.

You really want to plan to be going through around 9am-2pm or after 7pm. Traffic starts to get bad by 3:30-4:00pm and stays bad for several hours. On Friday the afternoon rush starts earlier. Morning commute is bad between about 6-9. I am not sure about the weekends, I think you are okay just about anytime except people coming home on Sunday night from weekend trips, but I don't really know.

Keep in mind that you will hit the traffic starting in Maryland.

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

I was born here (longer ago than I care to say) and although traffic here has always had its more congested times, it has gotten progressively worse in the past 10-15 years.

You didn't say what day of the week you would be driving down, but I can tell you that if its a weekday getting to the DC Beltway area, in particular the southbound lanes of I-95 at the area where the Beltway crosses I-95 in Virginia, between 3 and 4 PM, will see you stuck in traffic. Rush hour here begins at about 3. The worst of the traffic leaving the city is usually at about 5 or 6 PM, but even at 3 or 4 it can be quite heavy.

Leaving from where you are at 3 AM will get you here for the morning rush hour which usually lasts through around 9:30, so traffic heading into the city from points north (Baltimore) will be heavy.

Assuming it will take about 4 or 5 hours to get from where you are to the DC area, for weekday travel I recommend trying to time your arrival at the DC Beltway area to anywhere from 10 AM to about 1 or 2 PM. You will still be in some traffic, but it should be lighter and moving. If there is a fender bender during that time it will be faster getting around it. But a fender bender, or worse, a major accident, will cause tie-ups for hours in rush hour traffic.

Hope this helps.

 

[Silver Queen]

My son lives in Virginia and we travel down often. If I were making the trip on a weekday I would totally avoid the Beltway area and take routes 301/50 that completely bypass Baltimore and DC. As soon as we get into Delaware we get on Rt. 1 and switch over to Rt. 301 at Odessa. You go through Annapolis and eventually get back onto 95 at Carmel Church, VA. Yes, you will get slowed down by some traffic lights and commercial areas but you're not stuck in gridlock. When I go down on a Saturday or Sunday I leave the Albany area by 5:30-6:00 am and usually sale right through taking 95 all the way. I've made it to Arlington in 6 hours on those days.
Good luck to you. If you do choose to stick with 95 you might want to consider taking 295 (Baltimore/Washington Parkway) to cut off part of the Beltway.