WASHINGTON — An Interstate 395 lane striping fiasco that caused major delays for commuters Wednesday has been resolved.
About 1,500 feet of I-395 north at Seminary Road has clearly marked travel lanes that shift to the right Thursday. Also, the flow of that lane shift is reinforced for drivers by the placement of bright orange construction barrels along the far left lane.
On Wednesday, drivers on the same stretch encountered confusing and sometimes double lane markings, making it appear as though there were sometimes three or four travel lanes along different points of the highway.
395N lane striping now CLEARLY marked at Seminary Rd #VAtraffic #DCtraffic #WTOP pic.twitter.com/qJ5hKFyYPq
— Kristi King (@kingWTOP) July 24, 2014
395N lane striping work done now at Seminary Rd #VAtraffic #DCtraffic #WTOP pic.twitter.com/F1Fye3fs8K
— Kristi King (@kingWTOP) July 24, 2014
The issue caused unusual rush hour slowdowns extending as far south as Newington as drivers jockeyed for position while trying to avoid collisions.
Frustrated drivers flooded the WTOP traffic center with calls.
“Some angry, some enlightening, some very, very amusing,” notes WTOP Traffic Reporter Mary dePompa in her traffic blog.
A Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman says the poorly marked lane divisions were a result of a VDOT contractor not finishing up lane striping work prior to Wednesday morning’s rush hour.
Traffic lanes have been shifted in that area to make room for construction work on the foundations to create a new highway ramps at Seminary Road.
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