Worst. Commute. Ever.

[Terzo]

For me at least.

Did anyone else get stuck in that mess between exits 41 and 38 on 95 south today? It took me a little over an hour to get through that...driving a manual. Total commute time was around 2 hours 20 minutes. My most frustrating return commute by far.

 

[JD50]

95 goes through a lot of states, you might need to narrow that down a bit.

 

[Terzo]

95 goes through a lot of states, you might need to narrow that down a bit.

I assumed exit numbers wouldn't repeat, but thinking about it I guess they might. It was 95 between baltimore and washington, southbound.

 

[Anubis]

I assumed exit numbers wouldn't repeat, but thinking about it I guess they might. It was 95 between baltimore and washington, southbound.

exit numbers reset on state boarders IIRC

 

[ahenkel]

Highway 217 in Oregon is bane of my existence. That or anywhere downtown Salem M-F during rush hour when all the state workers get off work.

 

[JD50]

I assumed exit numbers wouldn't repeat, but thinking about it I guess they might. It was 95 between baltimore and washington, southbound.

Yea, they reset at the state line I believe. I used to make that commute. Now I travel on 95 between Richmond and DC, it's about 10x worse, unfortunately.

 

[Terzo]

Yea, they reset at the state line I believe. I used to make that commute. Now I travel on 95 between Richmond and DC, it's about 10x worse, unfortunately.

Yeah, there are still many people whose drive I don't envy. I suppose I can't complain too much, since I go against traffic (dc->baltimore in the morning, reverse at night), but I just want to vent. I was getting so angry I ended up calling my old man to bitch; that was actually quite helpful. I calmed down a lot while talking to him.

 

[AFurryReptile]

I can guarantee that my drive in and out of Houston every day is worse. What should take 20 minutes can take upwards of an hour and a half, and the worst part is you can never predict how traffic is going to be.

 

[lxskllr]

Pro tip... The exit numbers reflect the mile marker on the highway. Exit 41 is at mile 41 in Maryland.

 

[Ronstang]

I can guarantee that my drive in and out of Houston every day is worse. What should take 20 minutes can take upwards of an hour and a half, and the worst part is you can never predict how traffic is going to be.

I doubt it. I have lived in Houston for 37 of the last 40 years. I used to commute into Houston on 59 back when it was 2 lanes each side. I got stuck in the spot the OP is talking about on 95 one morning. It is the worst traffic I have ever been in because it is 2 lanes going stop and go for miles. Took me about 4 hours to do what should have taken an hour.

 

[Crusty]

Pro tip... The exit numbers reflect the mile marker on the highway. Exit 41 is at mile 41 in Maryland.

And they reset on state lines as well. They usually increase going east -> west and south -> north. At least I've never encountered an interstate that didn't. I-10 ends at almost 900 miles I think when you hit LA.

 

[shortylickens]

I pity any poor bastard who commutes into DC, by any means.
Though train and metro are far better than car.

 

[Chaotic42]

And they reset on state lines as well. They usually increase going east -> west and south -> north. At least I've never encountered an interstate that didn't. I-10 ends at almost 900 miles I think when you hit LA.

That's backwards. They increase west to east and south to north.

 

[JD50]

I can guarantee that my drive in and out of Houston every day is worse. What should take 20 minutes can take upwards of an hour and a half, and the worst part is you can never predict how traffic is going to be.

I'm pretty sure LA and DC go back and forth between worst and second worst traffic in the country. Between Fredericksburg and DC, rush hour starts at around 0530 and doesn't end until 0930. It starts up again around 2 to 230 and doesn't end until around 7. It's magnified on Fridays in the summer and any day before a holiday. Not only do you have all of the normal commuters, but it's really the only way to get from the northeastern part of the country to the southeastern part of the country so it's full of holiday/vacation travellers as well. Oh and it's only 3 lanes.

They just recently expanded a 3 or 4 mile stretch to 4 lanes, but the majority is still 3 lanes. I've never been able to figure out why they did that.

I was born in Houston and my parents both grew up there, I've heard the horror stories about Houston traffic as well.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

For me at least.

Did anyone else get stuck in that mess between exits 41 and 38 on 95 south today? It took me a little over an hour to get through that...driving a manual. Total commute time was around 2 hours 20 minutes. My most frustrating return commute by far.

I zipped right through that area in about 5 minutes today. Of course I was going from exit 41 to exit 38 in Connecticut, that's only about 5 miles.

 

[Terzo]

Guess some good came out of this, as I am being educated on the numbering system for the highways. Thanks to all who have mentioned that.

I doubt it. I have lived in Houston for 37 of the last 40 years. I used to commute into Houston on 59 back when it was 2 lanes each side. I got stuck in the spot the OP is talking about on 95 one morning. It is the worst traffic I have ever been in because it is 2 lanes going stop and go for miles. Took me about 4 hours to do what should have taken an hour.

I go against traffic so usually my drive isn't as bad as afurryreptile, but where/when was 95 two lanes? I haven't driven the full extent into dc, but I am 99.99% sure it is four lanes from 695 to 495.

I pity any poor bastard who commutes into DC, by any means.
Though train and metro are far better than car.

Granted this will vary with person, but while I could commute using a combination of MARC and metro, it would cost me more money and time than driving. Metro is fine if you're going into DC, but if you just want to go around it takes too long to be worth it.

 

[JD50]

I zipped right through that area in about 5 minutes today. Of course I was going from exit 41 to exit 38 in Connecticut, that's only about 5 miles.

heh, pretty sure it's only 3 miles...

 

[JD50]

Guess some good came out of this, as I am being educated on the numbering system for the highways. Thanks to all who have mentioned that.



I go against traffic so usually my drive isn't as bad as afurryreptile, but where/when was 95 two lanes? I haven't driven the full extent into dc, but I am 99.99% sure it is four lanes from 695 to 495.


Granted this will vary with person, but while I could commute using a combination of MARC and metro, it would cost me more money and time than driving. Metro is fine if you're going into DC, but if you just want to go around it takes too long to be worth it.

Maybe he's thinking of 295.

 

[Leros]

I got stuck in a bicycle race yesterday. They were little cars through whenever there was a gap in the race. Took me about an hour to get through 2 blocks.

 

[Terzo]

I zipped right through that area in about 5 minutes today. Of course I was going from exit 41 to exit 38 in Connecticut, that's only about 5 miles.

It always throws me off when exit numbers don't correspond with miles at 1:1. I was surprised one time driving on the NJ turnpike to find out that consecutively numbered exits were not a mile apart.

 

[Terzo]

heh, pretty sure it's only 3 miles...

I think he's referring to CT, not MD 95. I assume he read the OP but not the clarifying post afterwards.

 

[Taejin]

i got off at 100E so i avoided that ..haha

 

[SP33Demon]

495 south in the mornings suck ass. I'd recommend metro.

 

[Spydermag68]

2 hours and 20mins is a cakewalk. I have had a 4 drive and 6 hour drive home before in snow and ice..

 

[zerocool84]

I'm pretty sure LA and DC go back and forth between worst and second worst traffic in the country.

The biggest difference that makes LA worse is cus there's actually some type of decent public transportation in DC.