Get There

Headaches on the horizon

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:00:00 -0500

Metrorail delays start tonight: Orange Line riders, as of 9:30 p.m. Friday you can start adding half an hour to your normal travel time between Cheverly and Stadium-Armory. Keep it that way till the train system closes at midnight Sunday. Blue and Yellow Line riders, you've got till Saturday to worry about the extra half hour it's likely to take between Braddock Road and Van Dorn Street and between Braddock Road and Huntington. That will be the situation from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Beltway lanes at I-66: Road warriors, you've got your own problems if your out late Friday. The two left lanes of I-495 South and the ramp from I-66 West to I-495 South will close Friday night from 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. This is part of the HOT Lanes project.

Resourceful drivers save a life in Prince George's

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:12:36 -0500

Prince George's Fire and Emergency Services are giving kudos to two good Samaritans who helped save a woman from a burning car Thursday evening. After a collision near Wilson Bridge Drive and Indian Head Highway, the woman's car veered off the road and flames spread across the bottom of her vehicle. A FedEx driver, David Ramadhani of Bowie, ran to her rescue, using a fire extinguisher from his delivery truck to clear flames from her door. As the blaze continued, he and Michael Harry of Oxon Hill reached in the car, cut her seat belt using a utility knife and dragged her to safety. Units responding to the scene said the fire would have killed the woman before they could get to the car if she had not been removed.

Catoe comments on SmartBenefit changes

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:10:30 -0500

Metro General Manager John B. Catoe just finished his noontime chat on Metro's Web site, and it included this interesting comment about the planned changes in the SmartBenefits program. Catoe says he's heard plenty of rider questions about the changes, and "we need to rethink the changes that we are making." Arlington, VA: Good afternoon - I have a question regarding the upcoming changes to SmartBenefits. Do we know yet what will happen to the current balances on our SmarTrip cards? For instance, if I have a $100 balance on the card beginning Jan 1, what "purse" will that money go into?Thank you! Reply [from Catoe]: Hi Arlington. I see a few questions about SmartBenefits here in the queue. Over the past couple of weeks, we have heard a lot of comments from customers about this change in SmartBenefits. I've decided that we need to rethink the changes that we

WMATA: Recharge your SmarTrip at Giant stores

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:35:09 -0500

WMATA is expanding your ability to add money to your SmarTrip card, announcing 42 Giant stores in the Washington area will add the feature. Most of the participating Giant locations are in Virginia and Maryland. See the full list of more than 150 locations where you can add money to your SmarTrip. In addition to recharging at Giant, CVS and other retail participants, you can add SmarTrip fare at Metro stations and on Metrobuses.

The weekend and beyond

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:50:36 -0500

Find the causes and cures for your weekend travel delays, then look ahead to what you could face on your weekday commutes. Metrorail weekend delays Orange Line riders between Cheverly and Stadium-Armory should add a half hour to their normal travel times from 9:30 tonight (Friday) through the rail system's midnight closing on Sunday. Blue and Yellow Line riders between Braddock Road and Van Dorn Street and between Braddock Road and Huntington should add half an hour to their normal trip times from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. During the maintenance disruption, the regular Blue and Yellow Line trains will operate to Huntington. Metro will operate a special Blue Line shuttle train between Franconia-Springfield and King Street. At King Street, riders can board Blue or Yellow Line trains to Largo or Fort Totten. If you would normally park at Franconia-Springfield or Van Dorn Street, Metro suggests you

Six Montgomery County bridges under repair

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:37:25 -0500

Drivers should be alert for lane closings as the Maryland State Highway Administration cleans and paints these six bridges: -- I-495 (Capital Beltway) bridge over Kensington Parkway in Kensington -- Route 185 (Connecticut Avenue) bridge over Rock Creek in Kensington -- Route 410 (East-West Highway) bridge over Rock Creek in Chevy Chase -- I-495 (Capital Beltway) bridge over Seven Locks Road in Potomac -- Bridge carrying the southbound I-270 ramp to I-495 inner loop in Bethesda -- Bridge carrying the southbound I-270 ramp to southbound Route 355 (Wisconsin Avenue) in Bethesda. Work already has begun on the I-495 bridge over Kensington Parkway and the Route 410 bridge over Rock Creek, the SHA says. They should be done by mid-November, and the work will shift to the I-495 bridge over Seven Locks Road and the Route 185 bridge over Rock Creek. On the Route 185 and 410 bridges, the SHA will

Metrorail extension will close Tysons service roads

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:01:08 -0500

Click on Dulles Rail project map for larger image of upcoming changes to Route 7. This is the start of big changes along Route 7 for Tysons commuters. Beginning Monday, the service road of eastbound Route 7 between Pike 7 Plaza and the Koons GM car dealership will start to close permanently. Crews working on the Metrorail extension are closing portions of the service road one at a time until this entire stretch is gone. Over the next year, the service roads on both sides will be closed and the through lanes shifted. The mid-block turning lanes will be closed. A wider median will be created to accommodate the elevated rail line and two stations along Route 7 between Route 123 and the Dulles Toll Road. During the phase out of the service roads, drivers on Route 7 still will be able to reach the businesses along the road,

Featured Advertiser

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:01:08 -0500

Delays on Pennsylvania Avenue inbound

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:55:26 -0500

A multiple-vehicle accident in the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Silver Hill Road in the District Heights area, involving a federal protective officer's vehicle, has snarled inbound traffic, according to Prince George's County Police spokesman Henry Tippett. Tippett said he didn't know what happened, how many cars were involved, which agency the federal police officer works for or that person's condition. "Evidently they're handling their own," he said. The accident happened at 8:09 a.m. Traffic is being detoured around the accident scene.

Spokeswoman: All but a few Montgomery stop lights running normally

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:06:32 -0500

Montgomery County roads are finally moving smoothly, as all but a "handful" of traffic lights have been fixed, an official said this morning. "It's going really well," said county spokeswoman Esther Bowring, just before 8 a.m. She added that there are fewer than 10 lights that still aren't working correctly, mainly in the Briggs Chaney Road area. "Maybe they're just responding erratically to the computer commands," Bowring said, noting that engineers continue to run tests on the lights. She said there may be some backups, but that's nothing out of the norm. "It's hard to know because there's always normal backups and delays and congestion, even if the system is working pretty reliably," she said.

Today's read: Montgomery lights back

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:47:34 -0500

Leggett wants computer fixed faster: As computer experts wrestled with the balky computer that controls traffic signal timing, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett said he planned to expedite a $35 million program to replace the computer system. Begun two years ago, the replacement was planned to take six years. (Ashley Halsey III) The traffic signals didn't go out, they just were giving green for a shorter time than they should during rush hour. But it was a nightmare for commuters. VRE ouster of Amtrak approved: As of July 1, Amtrak is out as operator of the service and Keolis Rail Services America, the U.S. subsidiary of a company based in France, is in. VRE said it selected Keolis because its proposal was the most cost-effective and offered the best customer service plan. (Jennifer Buske) Light rail plan bolstered by study: A change in the transit route proposed for the I-270

Headaches on the horizon

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:00:00 -0500

Maryland Beltway paving: The paving project between the American Legion Bridge and Interstate 270 is concentrating on the Capital Beltway ramps this week. There will be ramp closings from 8 to 10 o'clock tonight. Montgomery traffic signals: Montgomery County says it expects your morning rush hour will be near normal after two days of signal problems. Still, Ride-On buses will be free all day Friday. Beltway at I-66: VDOT will close the Capital Beltway, I-495 south lanes at I-66 from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. next Monday through Thursday nights while crews install steel beams for a new bridge at I-66 East over the beltway. This was originally scheduled to start last Friday, but has been rescheduled, VDOT said. In preparation for next week's work, two left lanes of I-495 South and the ramp from I-66 west to I-495 south will close tonight and Friday nights (Nov. 5 and 6)

Breakthrough in Montgomery County traffic signal problem

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:11:52 -0500

As Montgomery County commuters suffered through their fourth nightmarish rush hour Thursday, county officials said computer experts finally had isolated the central computer problem that caused the traffic signal system to meltdown. "Engineers have isolated the problem and have been successful in reestablishing the connection between the computer and the traffic signals, with the result that most of the intersection signals are now responding to our commands," said County Executive Isiah Leggett. County traffic engineers and outside consultants had been vexed by the problem for 40 hours, unable to manage the county's more than 750 traffic signals, whose daily timing patterns normally are changed throughout the day to accommodate the ebb and flow of traffic. A few signals still were balking at commands from the revived central computer, Leggett said, but most were responding. "We will continue to monitor it throughout the evening and overnight but we anticipate that tomorrow

Montgomery County commuters: Share your traffic light issues and advice

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:14:47 -0500

As Montgomery County officials try to fix the mess of traffic lights that is causing confusion and chaos for commuters, we're asking for your help. What intersections are creating the biggest back-ups? Have any advice for fellow travelers on side streets or alternate routes that are functioning properly? Extra points if you have a stopwatch and can time the lights that are creating gridlock. Share your advice, observations and notes below or, if you have Twitter, use a #gridlocktip tag in your tweet. (See #gridlocktips on Twitter).

DC starting big project on Pennsylvania Ave. SE

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:04:44 -0500

I told you in a previous posting to get ready for a string of road projects that would affect travel on the eastern side of the District. Today, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty announced another of them. The $30 million Pennsylvania Avenue Great Streets project will extend from just west of 27th Street SE to Southern Avenue. The work, which includes installation of a median, streetscape, utility upgrades, new curbs and gutters, paving and landscaping, will take about two years. Here's a map of the work zone. Traffic impact Pennsylvania Avenue is a major commuter route into downtown Washington as well as a neighborhood connector, and it has two commercial centers around Branch and Alabama avenues, so the planned daytime construction work is likely to disrupt traffic. Drivers now travel a 30 mph avenue that ranges from a four-lane section between Southern Avenue and Carpenter Street to a five-lane section between

Montgomery County traffic mess may continue

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:40:23 -0500

Montgomery County officials said Thursday they are struggling to restore synchronization to 750 traffic signals throughout the county and are bracing for an outage that could last into next week. The computer that regulated the flow of traffic crashed completely about 3 a.m. Wednesday. According to Montgomery County spokeswoman Esther Bowring workers have isolated the location of the problem but have not been able to find a solution. At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and Department of Transportation officials said crews will begin manually transferring synchronization information to traffic signals along major commuting routes, with the goal of having 100 signals complete by Monday and another 100 by the middle of next week. One official described the problem as being similar to getting a dial tone on your phone but being unable to complete a call. Officials said consultants have been brought in to assist