Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

What’s That About Telecommuting?

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by

Dick Hall-Sizemore
in

Traffic at about 5:00 p.m. near the Rt. 3 exit in Spotsylvania

by Dick Hall-Sizemore

For those who have predicted that the pandemic would result in a fundamental shift in commuting patterns and highway traffic, I invite you to get on I-95 at its junction with the Beltway at 3:00 on a week-day afternoon, driving south. Thursday afternoon, it took me more than two hours to get from the Beltway to Fredericksburg and I used the E-Z Pass lane for part of the way. (My mistake was in getting off at the Dumfries exit.) The traffic from Woodbridge to Spotsylvania was bumper-to-bumper the entire way. And it was crawling. At times, traffic was not moving at all.

Furthermore, I know that there has been a lot of national news about the shortage of truck drivers, but the number of trucks on the road today did not seem significantly different from what it was in pre-pandemic days.

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57 responses to “What’s That About Telecommuting?”

  1. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    I’m a bit confused about telecommuting. Is telecommuting doing work on your smartphone while stuck in traffic, or is it looking at the traffic on your smartphone while stuck working?

  2. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    I’m a bit confused about telecommuting. Is telecommuting doing work on your smartphone while stuck in traffic, or is it looking at the traffic on your smartphone while stuck working?

  3. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the Great Influenza of 1918 changed everything. Until it didn’t. By 1922 things were back to pre-pandemic days. The Roaring Twenties were on. I’m not sure that the endless changes in society that have been heralded by the pundits will come true.

  4. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    Mark it down Mr. Dick. Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. you have a reasonable shot at making it thru 95 between Sprngfield and Massaponax. All bets are off before or after that time. Geography slows down those truckers. That stretch of 95 has a number of tall hills carved by streams such as Potomac Creek, Accokeek Creek, Aquia Creek, Chopawamsick Creek, Quantico Creek, Neabsco Creek. The ever present back up at Centerpoint Parkway is a good example. The truckers can roll down them fine but then lose speed climbing the hills. It creates an accordion impact on the travel of traffic. Just an observation from a delivery driver who has rolled that route many times this past year. There are only a few work arounds. Route 1 is never one of them. Your best chance at an alternative, the turkey path back roads of Stafford County.

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      That’s a good point about the truckers and the hills. It explains why there always seems to be a backup at Woodbridge. The answer, of course, is to require all truckers to use the far right lane. They can back themselves up and let the rest of us drive on by. I seem to remember that there is some requirement like that on I-81 south of Roanoke, but it is has been a long time since I traveled that route.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        If one looks around their house, virtually EVRYTHING in it is brought by truck!

        All your Amazon, fast food, Walmart, home depot, it ALL goes by truck!

    2. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      don’t look now… but…

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3002dc2d31e7b27f56b283336e6257f88d063f905e6139655fa3bafaeda73783.jpg

  5. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    FWIW, main stream media is claiming the cruiser Moskva to be the largest warship sunk in hostile action since WWII. It is 4′ longer, and 4′ beamier than the torpedoed cruiser General Belgrano, so I guess that’s true.

  6. James A. Bacon Avatar
    James A. Bacon

    I-95 between Washington and Fredericksburg is truly the road from hell.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Depends on which way you’re going.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        I know folks don’t care but there are times when I-95 is largely clear with little traffic.

        I’ve driven many urban areas across the country and as bad as traffic is here, there are other places where it’s equally as bad. Try Houston or LA or Chicago or even Seattle at their busy times. We might be #1 on some charts but the difference between #1 and 2 and 3 is so close that the title of #1 switches back and forth with updated ratings.

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Between 1AM and 3AM, I-95 runs clear, unless an insecticide truck overturns and ties up traffic for a day, two, or a week.

          Take some pride. I may be wrong, but I-95 is the nation’s busiest.

          1. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            Oops. Wrong comment.

          2. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            Oops. Wrong comment.

          3. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            Oops. Wrong comment.

          4. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Uh…

          5. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            I had typed in something that had nothing to do with your comment.

            Since I couldn’t delete the comment, I edited it – and that was the best I could come up with.

            I know, I should be ashamed of myself.

            My excuse is that a raging sinus & ear infection has diminished my ability to generate snappy rejoinders.

          6. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Well, get well. I sympathize. I usually have a post nasal drip that could light the city of Toledo, made worse in pollen season.

          7. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            does depend on who says so:

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/673d67714347c5a590e5e8adee87f4bccab0693643985994ec120a550e7c1615.jpg

            https://dolphindelivery.ca/the-10-busiest-highways-in-the-usa/

    2. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      FWIW, based on traffic density, and direction of travel, Hell is most probably located between Dumfries and Woodbridge. But it is definitely in Virginia.

      1. WayneS Avatar
        WayneS

        I thought Hell was in Michigan.

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Montana? Oh, no. Close, Helena.

          1. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            There is also a Hell on Grand Cayman.

          2. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Outta rum! Think you that I, who once drank a pina colada in paradise, know not Hell everywhere! (Apologizes to C. Marlowe)

    3. killerhertz Avatar
      killerhertz

      And it’s paved with the good intentions of government.

  7. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    I sit on a citizen transportation committee for the Fburg MPO. The role of that committee is to be a sounding board to the formal policy committee that makes actual funding and transportation decisions.

    There is great (and justifiable) frustration with I-95 and I agree , there
    are times (more and more) when it is an unmitigated mess – pun intended.

    I’m not sure that exurban commuting from Fburg to NoVa is the only or even the primary problem as we have these congestion problems on weekends also. The Fburg MPO has sent to memo to the Dept of Transportation making this point.

    New bridges are being built of the Rappahannock. Southbound is already built and operating and they’re putting beams on the new one now.

    In addition, bridges and overpasses north of the river are being torn down and rebuilt so that HOT lanes can be extended to the River. In the to-be-built plan are new lanes south from the River to Massaponax – where a new VA regional clinic is under construction (which may fastrack it).

    Short of this , I do wonder about what should be done beyond blame and hating life in general.

    Do people want a new parallel I-95 corridor that would slice through billions of dollars of already developed property?

    Should HOT lanes be built the entire distance between Richmond and Washington?

    Should Rt 301 be turned into an interstate LITE?

    The answers are difficult and expensive and involve more than exurban commuting traffic IMHO.

    1. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      Good thing Congress passed the infrastructure bill. Wait … what? That bill all but ignores highways? Oh well, nevermind.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        Geeze DJ – got anything besides blame?

        Come on guy.

        You know the problem.

        Tell me what needs to be done.

        Want a dual I-95 corridor? A western bypass? and Outer beltway?

        what?

        1. killerhertz Avatar
          killerhertz

          Shrink government by hiring rabid foxes. That will fix traffic.

        2. DJRippert Avatar
          DJRippert

          “Want a dual I-95 corridor? A western bypass? and Outer beltway?”

          Yes, no, yes. I only answered “no” to the western bypass because it’s the same thing (in my mind) as an outer beltway.

          But … less than 10% of the Biden Boondoggle (aka the infrastructure bill) is dedicated to roads & bridges.

          https://www.cbsnews.com/news/infrastructure-bill-2021-implementation/

          Virginia will get $10.1B of the $1.2T in the infrastructure bill.

          That will be a lot of bike trails and EV charging stations unless the Repubs retake the state senate this Fall.

          https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2021-11-19/the-states-getting-the-most-money-from-the-infrastructure-bill

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            How would you pay for it and are you willing to take new roads through existing subdivisions and commercial development?

            It costs 100 million dollars a mile for an interstate grade road through existing developed property. ten miles a billion, you get the idea.

            Are Nova taxpayers willing to do that?

            would you support tolls to pay for it?

    2. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      I appreciate the dilemma.

      You are right about the exurban commuting traffic not being the only big problem. The I-95 corridor is one of the, if not the most, busiest in the nation. Every since our daughter got married and settled in NoVa,, we have known to avoid coming home to Richmond on I-95 on Sunday afternoons, especially in the summer.

      Last summer, returning home on Saturday afternoons from the grandkids’ swim meets, I took the scenic route from I-66 to Rt/15/29 to Warrenton, then Rt. 15 to Culpeper, Rt 522 to Louisa, and at Cuckoo, got on Rt. 33 to Richmond. It was longer in miles, but took about the same amount of time as it would have taken on I-95, averaging 35 mph. And, I got to stop at Moo Thru near Remington for a great ice cream cone. https://moothru.com/

      Personally, I was distressed at the cutting of all the trees in the areas between the north bound and south bound lanes. The highway (in both directions) leading down to the Rappahannocck River used to be a really picturesque, almost peaceful, drive, with all the trees on both sides. Now it is just a mess.

      I am not sure how much good the new express lanes, which allow one to bypass local traffic getting off at the Rt. 3 and 17 exits, do. Yesterday, they were more clogged that the regular I-95 lanes. Also, travelers wanting to stop at the Virginia Welcome Center, have to take the “local” lanes.

      Frankly, I don’t think more HOT lanes will do much good. They certainly did not relieve the traffic yesterday afternoon. It would have cost about $40 to travel the HOT lanes from Springfield to their termination in Stafford. Obviously, not a lot of people are going to pay that. (That is the primary reason I got off at Dumfries and I wish I hadn’t.) The extension to the Rappahannock will add to the cost.

      One solution might be the one that James Whitehead and I discussed. My memory may be failing me, but I am almost sure that there was a stretch of I-81 South (maybe between Roanoke and Christiansburg) where trucks were, at one time, restricted to the right lane. Even now, VDOT is building truck climbing lanes at three spots on I-81. That’s probably not feasible on I-95, but, the state could restrict trucks to the far right lane, especially in southern Fairfax and through Prince William, where all the hills and creek valleys are located. That would leave two lanes for cars going 70+ mph. https://www.virginiadot.org/projects/bristol/interstate-81-southwest-virginia-truck-climbing-lanes.asp

      The other idea is to beef up VRE service, which Northam’s transportation bill would do. But, that is going to take time.

      1. Paul Sweet Avatar
        Paul Sweet

        I-81 southbound has been widened to 3 lanes between a couple exits south of Roanoke (I think Ironto) and Christiansburg. Trucks are allowed in the 2 right lanes but not in the left lane.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          It’s that way on I-95 also I believe and on most interstates.

          https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/35d58804444ed4b7f3fcf83affff2c4fb35664d81137a7e731b0a82f6e0fa705.jpg

      2. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
        James Wyatt Whitehead

        Next time you roll down 522 try this. When you get to the old firehouse at Mineral turn left. Go to Frederickshall, Beaverdam, Teman, to Doswell. Untouched Virginia countryside with nobody on the road.

        1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
          Dick Hall-Sizemore

          Sounds like the kind of drive I like. Too much out of the way when driving back from NoVa on Saturday afternoon, however.

          1. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
            James Wyatt Whitehead

            Going that way. Warrenton to Doswell 90 minutes.

  8. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Boston, NYC, Philly, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Jacksonville, Lauderdale, and Miami.

    Nine cities on I-95 with complete beltways around the city — complete rings.
    Nine rings in Hell.

    Coincidence? I think not!

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      Richmond does not have such a ring. By getting off one road, traveling a short distance and getting on another road, you can almost make it all the way around.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        Couldn’t even get that right, eh? Only Richmond would have a beltway with a permanent detour.

        Well, don’t remember my Dante, but a broken circle seems like the perfect place for charlatans.

      2. WayneS Avatar
        WayneS

        Yes. I295 gives Richmond a “3/4 beltway”. When Rt 288 was completed it gave Richmond a quasi-beltway..

      3. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        Richmond had the same problem of other urban areas that waited too late to build a beltway. Once a lot of subdivisions and commercial development occur, it’s very hard to drive a new interstate through them.

        The days of new beltways are behind us.

      4. WayneS Avatar
        WayneS

        Yes. I295 gives Richmond a “3/4 beltway”. When Rt 288 was completed it gave Richmond a “quasi-beltway”.

        Still not a real beltway, though.

    2. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      Richmond does not have such a ring. By getting off one road, traveling a short distance and getting on another road, you can almost make it all the way around.

    3. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      Beltways fundamentally changed the way that urban areas develop and function. No one understand the impact until after the fact.

      The number of miles an average person drove per year went up dramatically after interstates and beltways were built.

  9. WayneS Avatar
    WayneS

    Here is a counter-point to the “Virginia’s highways suck” mantra:

    https://reason.org/policy-study/26th-annual-highway-report/

    Maybe the authors thought NOVA is in Maryland?

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Reason Foundation
      5737 Mesmer Ave.
      Los Angeles, CA 90230
      Phone: (310) 391-2245
      Fax: (310) 391-4395

      Geez, LA! No wonder they think Va is a good place to drive!

      1. WayneS Avatar
        WayneS

        Truth be told, there are a lot of very nice, well designed, well constructed, well maintained, and lightly traveled back roads in Virginia.

        Please keep this between us, though – I’d hate to see my playgrounds ruined by heavy traffic…

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          I use 60, 17, 301, 33, 3, and 11. 17 is an excellent substitute for I-95 throughout SC and GA. Like 11 in the Valley crisscrossing I-81, 17 crisscrosses I-95.

          We’ve hopped off 95 on to 17 many times to avoid snarls in those two states.

          Saline spray for your nose and sinuses. You can use it as often as you’d like.

  10. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    This is I-95 at Frederiksberg at 6:40 April 15:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2189ef91657692e9a18dc5a9b723acc6dba43d70c883fbf3fa58f43308229786.jpg

    1. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
      James Wyatt Whitehead

      Here is a big reason why 95 will never have an alternative between Woodbridge and Fredericksburg. The Quantico Marine Base and the Prince William National Forest Park. The base is 55,000 acres. The park is 16,000 acres. The sliver of land between 95 and the river is totally developed. There is simply no other place to add highways unless Uncle Sam says uncle and gives up some of that land.
      https://media.defense.gov/2018/Mar/06/2001886559/-1/-1/0/180306-M-ZZ999-001.JPG

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        well, Quantico was/is already split east and west.

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d53b09499249b6758d87e123b610e6175d2f91afa89cc83d0d2fdbcf2a9500f7.jpg

        But I think the chances or working out something with the military and the Forest Park are far easier than trying to take hundreds, maybe thousands of developed properties, both residential and commercial.

        Over time a lot of commercial has built up along both sides of I-95 and the folks with single family homes in subdivisions are fierce NIMBY.

        VDOT is halfway finished adding new bridges over the Rappahannock as well as adding more lanes between the river and North to where the existing HOT lanes are.

        It’s possible right now to build a dual corridor south of Fredericksburg to perhaps Ashland or where I-95 hits I-295 in Richmond but it would cost billions… 4-5 times what VDOT’s current annual budget is.

        This is the future of I-95 IMHO.

        Few folks love the HOT lanes and plenty of folks hate them with a passion but the simple reality is if we are not going to add more lanes to i-95 or build a parallel corridor, the only choice to keep I-95 operating and not gridlock is a separate set of lanes that are kept free flowing by variable tolls keyed to congestion levels.

        The most strident critics of the HOT lanes really have no solutions beyond really unrealistic ideas that ignore physical and fiscal realities and blame – misplaced and mis-directed IMHO.

        They’re rightly frustrated but the answers they want are not really possible IMHO.

        In terms of the worst road, I still say that it’s not in a class by itself far worse than any other, but instead , one of many similar roadways – where the congestion levels are close and #1 standing is by minor numbers not big differences.

        Anyone who has driven the Charlotte urban freeways or Atlanta, or Houston or Chicago can attest to that. I drove the Charlotte urban freeways back in Dec, and anyone who thinks I-95 Fredericksburg is worse, I invite to Charlotte to compare.

        We can’t outbuild the demand and the demand is actually induced by new, less congested roads that are almost immediately overwhelmed once built. Driving is what Americans do.

        When the interstates and beltways were originally built, no one really appreciated just how much those new roads would increase driving. The number of miles people drove skyrocketed with the advent of urban interstates and beltways.

        This is what it looks like:

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/61ce57f275b3942082183afc4b54f6c6fc126a3ad3fe7511a27fc6dd4042aaea.jpg

        And this really does not show the real increases for some interstates like I-95 which
        was built in the 1960’s, 20-30 years prior.

        The reality is, the more roads we build , the more people will drive. It’s called induced demand and it is very real and VDOT which used to deny it, now recognizes it and models it when new roads are proposed.

        You build an interstate on I-95 and people WILL MOVE from NoVA to Fredericksburg and commute solo in car daily.

        Before I-95 and the beltway, the Stafford/Fredburg/Spotsy area had few commuters (mostly to Quantico and other military along Route 1).

        Today, this region has close to 400,000 population with a significant number of commuters to NoVa and even Md. ( changed somewhat by covid and work from home).

        For all intent and purposes, the Fredericksburg region is now the edge of NoVa and where I-95 travelers from afar, start to encounter NoVa regional traffic.

        Savy I-95 travelers will divert to I-81 to avoid NoVa and/or time their travel (as you recommend) to times outside of known congested times.

        We’re pretty much done building major interstate-type roads and we’re now at a stage where we have to managed what we do have so that it still functions and does not gridlock.

        NoVa has it’s own MPO (like Fredericksburg does) where it maintains a 25-yr planning horizon. Major new interstates do not appear in that plan. I think it still shows a western Potomac bridge crossing but no outer beltway or similar.

        1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
          Dick Hall-Sizemore

          Nice discussion. It will be many years before a dual corridor (HOT lanes?) for I-95 south of Fredericksburg to Richmond can be justified. I-95 congestion drops off markedly past the Rt. 1 exit.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Yes but like I-95 itself , if you don’t do those lanes BEFORE the land is developed, you lose that option later!

            I-95 was truly visionary. Who, in their right mind would build such a corridor before it was needed and then get blamed for not building it bigger to start with? 😉

        2. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
          James Wyatt Whitehead

          I am going to make my own tombstone out of slab of used concrete from I 95 for taking hours, days, years off of my life.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I don’t think you are alone by any stretch of the imagination but do ask one question.

            what would your life be like without i-95?

            serious question.

          2. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
            James Wyatt Whitehead

            Where would my life be? Shangra La!

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