Drivers, Your Day of Reckoning Nears

Day after Labor Day means second-worst congestion

By ASHA BEH

Updated 8:45 AM EDT, Mon, Sep 7, 2009

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The end of the summer is officially here, and the Washington metro area is likely to feel the congestion pain Tuesday as Congress, lobbyists, government employees and more go back to work.

And you can't forget about the thousands of children going back to school. (We always hate getting stuck behind one of those big, yellow school buses, especially when they're just about to stop. Don't kids know the meaning of rush hour? It's all about rushing.)

The folks at AAA Mid-Atlantic are predicting Tuesday will be that dreaded day of reckoning -- or, as they've coined it, "Terrible Traffic Tuesday."

"With more than three million Washington area workers returning to work, 800,000 kids returning to area schools, and 860,000 Washingtonians who spent the weekend kissing summer goodbye 50 miles or more from home, chances are we will feel the full brunt of the second-worst gridlock in the nation...,” said John B. Townsend II, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Manager of Public and Government Affairs.

"Will rush hour traffic, which has dipped 3.1 percent in recent months on area roads continue to show signs of decline or will we see a surge in gridlock as is the norm in September?" Townsend asked.

With the second phase of the I-270 resurfacing project starting this week and work continuing on Chain Bridge and other areas, we're betting on the latter -- and so is Townsend, who says there are indications that we may see a gridlock surge.

And you know it's really bad when L.A. is the only city ahead of you on the gridlock misery index. Yep, the Washington metro area got the No. 2 spot, according to the 2009 Urban Mobility Report from the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI).

But what's in a survey, right? Real-time traffic provider INRIX ranked Washington the fourth-most-congested city in the nation for the first six months of 2009. The 1, 2 and 3 spots went to L.A., New York and Chicago, respectively.

(Potato, pot-ah-to. You can believe whatever survey you want, but having lived in New York, driven in L.A., and experienced Chicago a few times, we're going with INRIX on this one.)

So buckle up, kids, and keep your tempers in check. It's going to be a long ride.