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Terrible Traffic Tuesday may not be as terrible as in years past, but it should still hectic on the highways, AAA says Date published: 9/7/2009
BY DAN TELVOCK Kids are returning to school and families are coming back from vacation tomorrow, which all creates a recipe for gridlock on the area's roads. More than 3 million workers will return to their jobs tomorrow, along with an estimated 800,000 students in the Washington region. AAA said it is hard to tell how bad the traffic is going to be on "Terrible Traffic Tuesday." Three studies released this year that measured traffic congestion on roads in the metro area provided mixed messages, said John B. Townsend II, AAA's Mid-Atlantic manager of public and government affairs.
The Washington Metro area has the second-worst gridlock in the nation, he said. Only Los Angeles has it worse. But he said another study by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board showed traffic gridlock declined 3.1 percent in 2008. The Federal Highway Administration says that motorists drove 9.9 billion fewer miles from January to May 2009 compared with the same period last year. But in June, motorists drove 5 billion more miles. "The signals are mixed," Townsend said. "Keep in mind these are calipers measuring the extent and magnitude of gridlock on our area's roads during different time frames over the past three years." Dan Telvock: 540/374-5438
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