NOVA Traffic
Assessing America's most consistent traffic congestion
NOVA Traffic Area of Concern
The stretch of Interstate 95 (I-95) from Fredericksburg, Virginia to Washington D.C. has consistently been rated the absolute worst daily average of traffic within the Continental United States for years. With the flow of traffic - North in the morning and South in the afternoon - commute times can nearly double based on traffic alone and not accounting for other variables (i.e. accidents, construction). Public transportation is available on a limited basis and carpooling is encouraged. Express lanes have been added to the majority of the route that a driver can pay to use that has significantly less traffic. Despite all of these alternative methods to increase the flow of traffic this stretch remains a leader in traffic jams, accidents, and increased commute time.
Stafford, Virginia
The location where the Express lanes end in the south is in Stafford County. This leads to a bottleneck of traffic for a significant amount of the vehicles traveling south everyday due to cheaper cost of living and property values.
Marine Corps Base Quantico
The base of Quantico adds significant delays to travel as the majority of the base works on the same schedule with the worst traffic being the crowd getting to work by 0730 and ending their day around 1630.
Occoquan
The Occoquan onramps and offramps are the most congested points within the country. Much of this is due to poor planning by having active lanes go from four lanes down to two while an additional two on ramps are within that span.
Springfield
Springfield is the location for many public transports in and out of DC. This is the southern most Metro station and is a highly congested spot for traffic. The Army base of Fort Belvoir and agencies such as the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency being in proximity to this exit add to the challenges experienced during the daily commute.
395 Interchange
This location simultaneously has two exits that go to different areas of the District of Columbia or Southern Maryland while also having the convergence of I-95, I-495, and I-395. Many of the drivers that are commuting from the south to Baltimore or Washington DC get stuck at this point daily.
A high density of Public Transportation options exist in the Washington DC area, yet further south the options get scarce. The VRE locations in Virginia are expensive and inconvenient given the overcrowding and discomfort of them.
D.C. has worst traffic congestion
While dated, the statistics have changed very little. You can see the average delay an individual may experience during a normal commute adds up to 67 hours daily. Here are some additional sources:
Combined waste over the next decade: up to $2.3 billion
Average Traffic Jam: 33 minutes added over 6 miles
Citations:
ABC 7 News. 05 Feb 2015. "D.C. Has Worst Traffic Congestion". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bWyIp82JyI
Associated Press. 28 September 2017. NBC4 Washington. "Worst Traffic Spot in US Found on I-95 in Northern Virginia". https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/worst-traffic-spot-in-us-found-on-i-95-in-northern-virginia/28955/
ESRI. VDOT Traffic Volume. 05 August 2017. https://services.arcgis.com/p5v98VHDX9Atv3l7/arcgis/rest/services/VDOTTrafficVolume/FeatureServer
Kanef, Jill. ESRI. 04 February 20201. Bus Stops and Rail Stations - Northern Virginia. https://services5.arcgis.com/6MUPhDX27Ne3DNOw/arcgis/rest/services/Transportation/FeatureServer
ESRI. CamysLicensing. 10 July 2016. Virginia I95 Corridor Study Area. https://pennstate.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=e3c8cff211594ed9b564e31f0dbdfeb2