This article is about 10 years old

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)
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Southwest Freeway traffic at 9th Street tunnel
Southwest Freeway traffic merge
George Washington Parkway
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 bailout out onto the mainline highway. (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)
New Hampshire Ave. traffic merge sign
Dave Dildine

A native to the Washington area, Dave Dildine is no stranger to the region's complex traffic and weather patterns. Dave joined WTOP in 2010 when the station launched its very own in-house traffic service. You can hear him "on the 8s and when it breaks" from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.

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