Live Q&As

Good question.

Gas prices are not as high as the $2.82 we saw during Memorial Day weekend. They’ve dropped a dime since then in the metro area to an average of $2.72 a gallon, and area travelers are set on making it to the destinations they may have missed out on last Fourth of July. Perhaps the recent weeks of low prices at the pump were just the break area motorists needed. Thanks.

You are right, the vast majority of us do not travel during the major travel holidays of the summer.  Most of us stay home and have  barbecue in our backyards with our family and our friends.   

 Having said that, Washingtonians are traveling more this summer and it is a trend we began seeing at Memorial Day and now it’s continuing over the Fourth and it’s likely to continue though Labor Day. This summer Washingtonians are not only taking to the roads, but also traversing the country via airplane, train and other modes of transportation.

You can expect upwards of a half million people to as many as 1.2 million in Washington over the weekend because of the events on the National Mall and the baseball game this Sunday.

If you plan to ride Metro this Fourth of July weekend to either the holiday festivities on the National Mall  or to  the Washington Nationals day game, you’ll have plenty of company. And we don’t mean maybe. Metro officials expect between a half million and 600 thousand rail trips system for the fireworks show. You should expect crowded trains and buses and rail stations.

You are right, Metro will be crowded tomorrow as local workers get out of Dodge early.

You can expect the crowds to emerge at noon, as  the work force heads for the exits early.

After falling victim to the economic woes of last year, airlines can expect to bounce back over the weekend. The airports will be busy, but not as busy as they were on Memorial Day in our area, and not as busy as they are on the average workday when more than 200, 000 persons fly out of the area's three major airports.

More than 33, 000 local residents will reach their holiday destinations by plane.

This 9.1 percent increase in air travel is a direct result of the upturn the economy has taken over the last year,”

Good question and keep this in mind. Metro officials expect between a half million and 600 thousand rail trips system for the fireworks show.

You should expect crowded trains and buses and rail stations.

 To meet the demand, Metro is running extra service on July 4^th.  The good thing about this is  there will be no scheduled weekend track maintenance. 

 Metrorail will run from 7 a.m. to midnight, and operate near rush-hour level service for six straight hours from 6 p.m. to midnight.

Snaking from Maine to Florida, I-95 is one of the busiest roadways in America. I would suggest leaving before the morning rush hour to beat the crowd or to sit the morning rush hour out and slip out of town between 10:00 a.m. and noon. If you wait until noon, you will encounter all the local traffic as workers leave their jobs early. You can find state-to-state drive times at www.i95travelinfo.net.

By the way, the I-95 Corridor Long Distance Trip Planning Website is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT).

It is impossible to avoid traffic in Washington.  Just kidding, nothing is impossible.  I was traveling into Washington last week from a family reunion in Alabama, and area roads looked like a ghost town after midnight. I was shocked. But even Washington has to have some down time.  The later you arrive the better. The earlier you arrive the better too. Have a safe trip.

Heading to the coast of Narragansett, good for you. I am envious.  That’s a beautiful destination for the holiday. The drive from the Washington to Providence alone up I-95 normally takes six hours and 37 minutes by car.  That along is a distance of 402.5 miles. However, under current conditions, meaning the volume of holiday traffic on I-95,  that leg of the trip alone will  take eight hours.

Hope this helps. Here's a handy too.   http://www.i95travelinfo.net/

We do, and so does the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), for example. The same is true for other transportation departments in the region.  For example, when it comes to traveling the Bay Bridge for the holiday period, the  MDTA uses the following gauge or yardstick: Thursday, July 1, through Monday, July 5.

Quick, leave now.

Before leaving home at that time, I would take a look at the I-270 cameras to determine the volume of traffic on that stretch of the road from Old Georgetown to Clarksburg Road.

You can view the camera images here:

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/tmctmpl.asp?url=/content/DOT/TmC/cam.asp#

Believe me, at 6:00 pm, which is the height of the evening rush hour,  I-270, will be jammed with motor vehicles.

Why cool your heads behind the wheel? It will only frustrate you to death. So sit out the evening rush and head out around nine that evening and you will arrive in Cleveland before dawn’s early light.

Dear Ms. Solution.

Thanks for your insights and travel tips. Like Arthur Dent, the earthling in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” you have discovered the secret of traveling with finesse and aplomb.

No lines. No backups. No hassles. No worries.

 I like that.  

 Just don’t pick up hitchhikers heading to Long Island.

In that old Mother Goose nursery rhyme “Monday’s child is fair of face.”  And you will have a smile on your face as you head back from Virginia Beach on Monday.  Under the best circumstances the trip would take three hours or so, depending on traffic volume and traffic flow.  It could elongate to three and half hours, but that’s not enough to spoil your weekend. Go with the flow and stay safe.