Recent Experience Re I-270 to I-495 and I-95?

[PSUGuy]

We'll be heading South next Tues., April 30 from NE Pa., leaving 8 am and probably hitting the MD - DC area 11:45 or so. The last few trips we've taken I-81 down to Winchester Va before turning to Fredricksburg which automatically adds time to the trip but with a steady flow. There's something about crawling in traffic that gets to me even if I get to my destination quicker than via a longer route at 70 mph. Anyone know what I might expect on a Tues around 11:44 for the 270/495/95 part of my trip?

Thanks,

Bill From PA

 

[FCDub]

You can go to Google Maps, plug in your route and arrival time, and get an estimate.

 

[PSUGuy]

You can go to Google Maps, plug in your route and arrival time, and get an estimate.

I started going the I-81 route because the estimates from all the mapping sites I used were inaccurate. We'd do fine until we hit I-95 at the bottom of the loop but about 5 - 10 miles South of that I-95 became a parking lot. I recall the name Dale City being the area of congestion. It's been at least 5 years since we went down this way, perhaps the prediction process has improved, but I 'd like to hear some actual recent experiences.

Bill From PA

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

We go that way quite often.

Hitting DC around 11:45 you should be fine. I wouldn't expect any traffic at all.

It might be too late now (I don't know if they have express shipping) but you can get a VA EZpass flex that will allow you to drive in the express lanes for free, as long as you have at least 3 people in the car.

The express lanes start just over the MD/VA border. Then there is an express lane exit from 495 onto 95S, that puts you into the express lanes (if they are open in your direction).

If there are any issues, the express lanes will get you past them. The express lanes end around exit 143. The express lanes also have a higher speed limit on 495.

If google maps shows lots of traffic between MD and exit 143, it's worth paying the ezpass tolls, if you don't have the Flex.

 

[rg35]

We take 95 from NYC when we drive down. We leave NY around 4:30am which gets us to DC much earlier than you, but we generally breeze through DC.

Waze usually sends us on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway-695-395-95. We always use the express lanes. The toll is fairly nominal compared the total cost of Disney vacations, but I will look into the suggestion above to get the VA Flex.

The only time we've run into trouble on 95 south was one year near Richmond, due to a breakdown where they stopped in the middle lane instead of moving to the shoulder which caused some pretty big delays. Sometimes it slows down a bit near King's Dominion, and also near Aquia where the express toll lanes end and re-connects with 95 proper, but nothing too significant.

I have generally found that the trip estimates from Google Maps are reasonably accurate, but you do have to put in your expected departure date/time so it can adjust for historical traffic for that time and day of the week.

 

[wvjules]

I live right off of 270 and drive it to work daily (opposite rush hour traffic thank goodness!). You should be fine at 11:45. There is an overpass being build near exit 11 which will slow you down and maybe add about 15 minutes to your trip. So if you hit that traffic don't panic. It won't last long. And there is a speed camera so pay attention! Also, definitely get an EZ pass. It save so much time at tolls!

 

[PSUGuy]

Also, definitely get an EZ pass. It save so much time at tolls!

It looks like my Pa EZ Pass works there, also.

Bill From PA

 

[wvjules]

I am a fellow PSU Alum. I go there for recruiting events for my job. The worst part of the drive, for me, is through Breezewood. That place skeeves me out!

 

[Rach3975]

I started going the I-81 route because the estimates from all the mapping sites I used were inaccurate. We'd do fine until we hit I-95 at the bottom of the loop but about 5 - 10 miles South of that I-95 became a parking lot. I recall the name Dale City being the area of congestion. It's been at least 5 years since we went down this way, perhaps the prediction process has improved, but I 'd like to hear some actual recent experiences.

Bill From PA

From a recent study of the worst traffic hotspots in the nation...

1. Washington D.C. I-95 south, exit 133A to the Fairfax County Parkway, Virginia
This almost 6.5 mile section of southbound I-95 runs from south of the 495 Beltway to U.S Route 17 outside of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and was ranked the worst traffic hotspot in the nation with 1,394 traffic jams. As far as delays, that meant for 33 minutes traffic was traveling at least 65 percent slower than the posted speed limit. The estimated cost in lost time and wasted gas is $2.3 billion over the next 10 years, which is the highest in the country.

So the short answer is, at that time of day you should be fine. But the real answer is that driving through the DC area is always a crapshoot. On a normal day we're not on the highways too much--my husband takes the train into DC, and I work close to home. But last summer my daughter took a summer class that required me to make a daily drive on 495. It should have meant 15 minutes on the highway around noon and then again around 4. (Total trip should have been about 30 minutes, including the non-highway parts of the drive.) Once or twice we really made that portion of the trip in 15 minutes, but more often than not I had to bail on the highways altogether and take backroads since the highway was a parking lot. I think our most "fun" trip was almost 2 hours!

 

[MillauFr]

Just stay in the express toll lanes and you will be fine.