I live in the beautiful MD Suburbs of Washington, DC and, believe it or not, we’re are supposed to have the worst traffic know to mankind second only to Los Angeles. I believe it. You may have also heard the expression of “inside the Beltway” meaning the place where all the politicians hang out and have no idea whatsoever about what real people who live “outside the Beltway” really want.
Whether you live “inside the Beltway” or “outside the Beltway” doesn’t matter. It means that there is a Beltway.
The Washington Beltway — aka interstate Route 495 and Route 95 — is real and it’s also a real mess. Rush hour starts at five in the morning and lasts until ten. It starts again about three and ends at seven-ish. The picture you see with this blog post is pretty much how it is. Four to five lanes clogged with every kind of vehicle known to mankind. Toss in an accident or construction and you’ll get the picture. Hours to drive what should take 30 minutes.
It wouldn’t be so bad is there was a lane of two that moved. I’m thinking the left lane should be in continuous motion since there is no on or off ramp. But, no.
I Don’t Know How People Do It
I had a brief experience with this the other day when I was traveling from a training session in Rockville that ended at 3:00. I had agreed to pick up my wife at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport at 4:00. No problem-0, I thought. It should be a piece of cake. It was anything but…
Traffic was backed up and moving at a stop and go pace. Every now and them traffic would speed up to around 50 mph only to come to a complete halt half a mile later. It was crazy. I began to understand why people shoot at each other or, at the very least, shoot the finger at other drivers.
The very worst part is that there is no visible reason for the lack of traffic movement. It’s like there is some invisible gate that cars, trucks and buses must pass through before the road clears enough to get up to the speed limit. No accident. No construction. Nothing.Just lots and lots of traffic.
It’s enough to drive a person to drink.
Do you have a good Beltway story? Or just plain ol’ traffic jam story?
