Update at 11:45 AM – I-395 North is still crawling for a three-mile stretch from Arlington to the 14th Street Bridge. Thankfully, congestion has started to clear out through portions of I-395 in Alexandria. The traffic camera image of I-395 at the Pentagon (below) was captured at 11:40 — an extraordinary sight for this time of day.
It’s not quite the traffic nightmare of Friday, but today’s commute is exceptionally slow in Northern Virginia.
The Arlington stretch of I-66 was backed up earlier, but it’s now beginning to clear out. I-395 North, meanwhile, is still jammed almost the entire way to the I-95 Interchange.
Farragut North station after a train derailed. Credit: http://twitpic.com/12smef
Could anything else go wrong on outgoing Metro General Manager John Catoe’s watch? Catoe leaves office on April 2, which may be time enough for Metro to have another major, every-one’s-commute-affected catastrophe.
Huge lines at Metro station. Credit: http://twitpic.com/12rvdy
Then, in many cases, Metro only ran the trains every 30-45 minutes, causing huge lines to form at stations. At one point, according to several accounts, access to the Ballston Metro station was cut off due to too many people waiting for trains. Massive queues were also reported at the Pentagon City Metro station.
Finally, although this was beyond Metro’s control, a train derailed at the Farragut North station, causing already-bad delays on the Red Line to become nightmarish. Luckily, there were only a few very minor injuries.
The derailed train has been cleared and the stationed has reopened, Metro says, but the delays continue.
“Trains will be restricted to a speed of 25 mph between Dupont Circle and Farragut North Metrorail stations while Metro officials investigate the incident,” Metro said in a statement.
Metro says 345 people were on board the derailed six-car train, which should give you a sense of just how full trains are running today.
Update at 12:30 PM -Congestion on I-395 is finally beginning to thin out near the 14th Street Bridge. Metro, whose web site has crashed, says that an earlier train derailment on the Red Line at Farragut North station (more on that in the next post) has been cleared. Obviously, Metro delays continue.
Update at 12:10 PM – It’s noon and the traffic still looks like it did at 9:30, when the picture to the left was taken. At this point don’t you just turn around and head home?
Update at 10:10 AM – Metro trains on the Orange Line are running about once every 45 minutes, resulting in a huge crowd of waiting passengers at Ballston station, according to a reader via Twitter.
As most federal employees head to work for the first time this week, the primary worry for DC-area drivers has gone from snow-covered roads to traffic-clogged highways. Call it a return to normalcy.
Currently, there’s heavy traffic throughout the entire length of I-395 North. VDOT cameras show a continuous stretch of slow traffic on I-66 East from DC to well beyond the Beltway. And the GW Parkway is also backed-up.
WTOP is blaming the back-ups on the limited Metrorail service. In an interview, Virginia Democrat Rep. Gerry Connolly told the station that Metro needs more funding so it can recover more quickly from events like this week’s blizzard.
Connolly said the federal government should share part of the burden for Metro’s budget.
Tow trucks and plows are responding to a mess just off I-395 North. Several vehicles, including an ambulance, are stuck on the ramp to eastbound King Street. The ambulance was responding to a call when it became stuck. The stranded vehicles are completely blocking the ramp.
Also on I-395, traffic cameras appear to show several cars stranded in the HOV lanes of I-395 South. A snow plow is now on the scene.
Snow is tapering off, but many major roads remain snow covered. Around 6:00 tonight, Arlington Police shut down the Hayes St. on-ramp to I-395 due to treacherous conditions. Earlier, traffic cameras caught a car that spun out at the top of the ramp.
Police have temporarily shut down all lanes of I-395 South between Hayes Street and Arlington Ridge Road due to snowy conditions. Meanwhile, I-66 has reopened at Spout Run after an earlier accident.
Update @ 2:16 PM – Traffic cameras show snow plows working to clear portions of I-395 South. Police are reopening lanes, but may take some time for the backlog to clear out. Traffic is currently backed up on I-395 South past the Pentagon.
Cameras also show very heavy westbound traffic on the Arlington portion of I-66. In addition, there are reports of slow traffic on the northbound lanes of the George Washington Parkway. (more…)
