Worst merge lanes in the D.C. area

Southwest Freeway traffic at 9th Street tunnel

9th Street Tunnel to the Southwest Freeway East One of the most hair-raising highway merges lies in the center of the nation’s capital. It is a common location for fender-benders and side-swipes. The ramp from the 9th Street Tunnel to the eastbound Southwest Freeway (I-395 North) is one of the most crash-prone merges in the Washington metro area. The ramp offers drivers little room to accelerate onto the busy freeway. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WTOP/Dave Dildine

9th Street Tunnel to the Southwest Freeway East (continued) The ramps at the southern end of the 9th Street Tunnel are relics from an earlier era in highway design. Across the country, transportation departments are phasing out the ever-feared left-side acceleration ramps. Some refer to them as “suicide merges” because of the conflict drivers are faced with at this unnatural exchange. As Jon Hilkevitch of the Chicago Tribune wrote of the Kennedy Expressway’s ramps, a driver “must often throw the dice — and perhaps mumble a quick prayer or profanity — while attempting to merge.” (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WTOP/Dave Dildine

George Washington Parkway South to I-395 North A ramp onto the inbound 14th Street Bridge peels off the southbound George Washington Parkway around a tightly-wound clover leaf. The relentless traffic flow on I-395 North offers drivers at the end of the ramp few opportunities to merge into traffic. Accidents frequently occur as motorists jackrabbit into the bridge-bound lanes, forcing oncoming traffic to veer wildly to the left. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WTOP/Dave Dildine

I-395 Express Lanes to the I-395 South Commuters on I-395 and I-95 have had to adjust to new rules since the I-95 Express Lanes opened in late December. It took only a couple weeks for these drivers to discover an unexpected consequence of the highway’s geometry at the northern end of the facility. When carpool restrictions on the I-395 HOV highway are lifted at 6:30 p.m. on weekdays, volume increases in the lanes as opportunistic drivers seek refuge from normal rush-hour congestion. When these southbound drivers reach the I-95 Express Lanes south of Duke Street, many are unable or unwilling to pay the tolls and bail out onto the mainline highway. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WTOP/Dave Dildine

I-395 Express Lanes to the I-395 South (cont...)

The ramp from the express lanes to the main lanes injects a steady stream of traffic back into the main lanes toward Edsall Road before and after HOV restrictions are in effect. The result is severe congestion for drivers on the mainline highway during the 3 p.m. hour and 6 p.m. hour on weekdays. Congestion has formed on weekends as well.

The Virginia Department of Transportation plans to construct a fourth through lane on southbound I-395 between Duke Street and Edsall Road to alleviate this bottleneck. To date, only a portion of this project has been funded. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

I-395 Express Lanes to the I-395 South (continued) The ramp from the Express Lanes to the main lanes injects a steady stream of traffic back into the main lanes toward Edsall Road before and after HOV restrictions are in effect. The result is severe congestion for drivers on the mainline highway during the 3 p.m. hour and 6 p.m. hour on weekdays. Congestion has formed on weekends as well. The Virginia Department of Transportation plans to construct a fourth through lane on southbound I-395 between Duke Street and Edsall Road to alleviate this bottleneck. To date, only a portion of this project has been funded. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WTOP/Dave Dildine

I-495 East to New Hampshire Avenue South A short merge area and poor sight distance make for a stressful merge off the Inner Loop onto southbound New Hampshire Avenue. As if it wasn’t bad enough, a crosswalk spans the ramp at New Hampshire Avenue, so drivers need to yield to pedestrians there. Collisions are commonplace at this Beltway booby trap. Next to the ramp, there is a small white house. Before the cellphone era, the owner of the Adelphi home said that he could expect a knock at his front door a few times every week. The knock would usually be the occupants of a vehicle involved in a collision asking to use his telephone. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WTOP/Dave Dildine

P Street NW at Rock Creek Parkway The roads and ramps in Rock Creek Park were constructed in a manner and location that would least obtrude into the natural landscape and waterways. Unfortunately for drivers, this means that many of the merges involve blind spots and sharp curves. From P Street, drivers merging onto the southbound on Rock Creek Parkway must negotiate a persistent flow of cars, bicycles and joggers with no acceleration room. The ramp to the northbound parkway is equally dicey, especially during the afternoon rush hour, when all four lanes of the parkway are oriented outbound. Occasionally, cars will careen off the parkway near P Street and end up in the waters of Rock Creek. This happened early this January. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WTOP/Dave Dildine

George Washington Parkway merge to I-495

George Washington Parkway to I-495 North Spin-outs are a common byproduct of wet weather. They are most common on sharply curved ramps. There is one merge in particular that plays host to an unusual number of accidents when the skies open up. The ramp from the George Washington Parkway to the Inner Loop of the Beltway has seen so many crashes over the years, most of the yellow-striped chevron posts that once lined the shoulder have been snapped, toppled and lofted into the wood line by Maryland-bound drivers. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WTOP/Dave Dildine

I-66 at Sycamore Street It’s not a particularly stressful merge, but influx of drivers from Sycamore Street onto I-66 East is one of the principal reasons for the recurring congestion in Falls Church. East of the Dulles Connector Road, as three lanes drop to two, the pace on I-66 naturally slows. An inconspicuous bottleneck, however, comes at the Sycamore Street on-ramp beyond the East Falls Church Metro Station, where merging traffic creates just enough friction to further slow traffic. The result is an elongated bottleneck that most Northern Virginians have learned to loathe. In late 2011, VDOT unveiled a continuous auxiliary merge lane for westbound drivers on I-66 between Fairfax Drive and Sycamore Street to alleviate a similar bottleneck in the opposite direction. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WTOP/Dave Dildine

Traffic is seen on Memorial Circle to George Washington Parkway South. The ramp from Arlington Memorial Circle to the southbound George Washington Parkway involves a blood-curdling left-merge. A difficult approach angle and no acceleration room have led to repeated close-calls and fender-benders. The merge is located across from Lady Bird Johnson Park and north of the Columbia Island Marina. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

Memorial Circle to George Washington Parkway South The ramp from Arlington Memorial Circle to the southbound George Washington Parkway involves a blood-curdling left-merge across from Lady Bird Johnson Park and north of the Columbia Island Marina. A difficult approach angle and no acceleration room have led to repeated close calls and fender-benders. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WTOP/Dave Dildine

NB Kenilworth Avenue to U.S. 50 East The small stretch of Kenilworth Avenue between Eastern Avenue and U.S. 50 in Maryland is usually backed-up by mid-afternoon on weekdays. Outbound commuters on D.C. 295 headed into Maryland endure congestion caused by a merge onto U.S. 50 East – a single-lane ramp that carries a large amount of afternoon volume into Prince George’s County, Maryland. Queue-jumpers and shoulder drivers are a common nuisance here. Fender benders often result from these illegal antics. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WTOP/Dave Dildine

Md. 32 at I-95 The I-95/Md. 32 Interchange in Columbia, Maryland, features not one but two left-side on-ramps. The junction is known as a hybrid directional cloverleaf interchange. The common partial cloverleaf design was modified to improve traffic flow by separating merges at the left on-ramps and right off-ramps on I-95. Still, left-merges such as this force drivers to undertake unfamiliar and, for some, formidable maneuvers. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WTOP/Dave Dildine

I-495 Capital Beltway traffic construction congestion

Md. 355 North to I-495 East This merge is among the most hairy Capital Beltway on-ramps out there. After speeding through the tall, overgrown vegetation that lines the edges of the ramp, drivers have about 500 feet to accelerate onto one of the most accident-prone stretches of the Beltway. This portion of I-495 averages about 260 wrecks per year. Crashes frequently occur at the nearby off-ramps to Connecticut and Georgia avenues as well. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WTOP/Dave Dildine

I-95 South at Va. 123 From Va. 123 North, commuters are provided a mere 100 feet before their acceleration lane tapers into I-95 South. The merge coincides with a lane-drop on the southbound mainline highway. As four through-lanes from Fairfax County turn to three south of the Occoquan River in Prince William County, drivers in the slow lanes must merge right and are often reluctant to yield to ramp traffic. This is one of the region’s most notorious bottlenecks. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WTOP/Dave Dildine