What is the one intersection that you get caught at and go "FML" due to its unnatural delay in changing lights?

I am doing a science project on how fucked up the VDOT system really is.

i've heard the turn lane from eastbound to northbound on fair lakes onto 7100 is the worst.

really, all of 7100 from rt 7 to 66 is just complete shit -- the lights are timed so poorly.

This one sucks bigtime.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=&ie=UTF8&q=pimmit+drive&fb=1&gl=us&ei=2XYqTMrBIIGC8gaDmOHSCA&ved=0CDQQtgMwAw&sll=38.90289,-77.204061&sspn=0.007999,0.027466&split=1&rq=1&ev=zi&radius=0.89&hq=pimmit+drive&hnear=&ll=38.90289,-77.202516&spn=0,0.027466&z=16&layer=c&cbll=38.902789,-77.202624&panoid=cEIlgf-iBfTYzYg4porjgA&cbp=12,199.22,,0,-3.65

Pimmit Drive, turning left onto Route 7. It's majorly long and sometimes you have to sit thru two whole cycles. There's also a little side street connected to the intersection, and sometimes traffic from there screws shit up.

There are a ton of them around, but this one's my least favorite.

Yeah, the afternoon backups on eastbound Route 7 at Idylwood/Pimmit suck.

In the mornings, I hate the light on eastbound Braddock at Backlick Road.

papashango1 Wrote:
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> i've heard the turn lane from eastbound to
> northbound on fair lakes onto 7100 is the worst.
>
> really, all of 7100 from rt 7 to 66 is just
> complete shit -- the lights are timed so poorly.


All of the fairfax parkway sucks when it comes to lights. Should have made overpasses the whole way.

My vote is the braddock rd/ rt 123 clusterfuck. In the mornings, braddock backs up all the way to shirley gate. And the worst part is the light does not allow simultaneous left turns and straight-thrus. Its one or the other in all directions.

Westfields Blvd and Stonecroft Blvd - screwy timing

EC Lawrence Park Entrance at Route 28 - this light simply should not exist.

KeepOnTruckin Wrote:
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> My vote is the braddock rd/ rt 123 clusterfuck. In
> the mornings, braddock backs up all the way to
> shirley gate. And the worst part is the light does
> not allow simultaneous left turns and
> straight-thrus. Its one or the other in all
> directions.

Yeah. What pisses me off is I turn left from eastbound Braddock onto northbound 123 during the PM rush. You sit there for five fucking minutes, and when you finally get the green arrow, if you're not one of the first five cars, you don't make it, unless you run it.

In the morning rush, it's green much longer (but still not enough!).

7100 & Pope's Head Rd is a long mutherfucker too.

vdot Wrote:
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> EC Lawrence Park Entrance at Route 28 - this light
> simply should not exist.


This one light, plus the one at braddock road, fucks over EVERYONE. In addition to the speed limit change, which 90% of the drivers ignore. the speed limit ought to lower to 50 mph until the 29 overpass, at which point 45 is ok.

As for the 123/braddock intersection, I either drive thru the city of fairfax, (occasionaly getting stuck at the wierd turn left then right to continue straight bullshit) and come down Roberts, or else take ffx county parkway to burke center and take burke lake road if I am heading towards annandale

Reston Pkwy. and Baron Cameron Ave. If you're going Southbound on Reston Pkwy., and you move into the left-turn lane late-at-night, with no other traffic around, you will pay for it dearly. You'll ALWAYS sit there, while the lights cycle through every lane except your own, and then as soon as you back-up and go to make a right down Baron Cameron instead, the left-turn lane signal goes green. I've had this happen on about two or three different occasions, and even rocking the line doesn't do a damn thing either.

==================================================================================================
"And if any women or children get their legs torn off, or faces caved in, well, it's tough shit for them." -2LT. Bert Stiles, 505th, 339th (On Berlin Bombardier Mission, 1944).

KeepOnTruckin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> vdot Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > EC Lawrence Park Entrance at Route 28 - this
> light
> > simply should not exist.
>
>
> This one light, plus the one at braddock road,
> fucks over EVERYONE. In addition to the speed
> limit change, which 90% of the drivers ignore. the
> speed limit ought to lower to 50 mph until the 29
> overpass, at which point 45 is ok.
>
> As for the 123/braddock intersection, I either
> drive thru the city of fairfax, (occasionaly
> getting stuck at the wierd turn left then right to
> continue straight bullshit) and come down Roberts,
> or else take ffx county parkway to burke center
> and take burke lake road if I am heading towards
> annandale
Attachments:

The intersection of Rt 7 and Georgetown Pike is really screwed up. They recently added a light at Seneca Rd just before Rt 7 and it really jacks up traffic on Georgetown Pike at rush hour(s) in the evening. A several mile backup on the Pike is not uncommon.

Rte 7 and Westpark Drive is awful too.

vdot Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Westfields Blvd and Stonecroft Blvd - screwy
> timing
>
> EC Lawrence Park Entrance at Route 28 - this light
> simply should not exist.


+1 for both...I work just north of Dulles off 28 and have yet to find a decent way home to Burke Centre. I thought that 28 to 66 or Braddock would be reasonable, but 28 backs up to 50 during the evening rush due to a combination of these lights.

Unless anyone has a better suggestion, the "best" route that I have found is 28 to Frying Pan to FXCO Parkway which moves reasonably well until 50 or Fair Lakes. It is slow the rest of the way to Popes Head, but bearable.

CheekyMonkey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> vdot Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Westfields Blvd and Stonecroft Blvd - screwy
> > timing
> >
> > EC Lawrence Park Entrance at Route 28 - this
> light
> > simply should not exist.
>
>
> +1 for both...I work just north of Dulles off 28
> and have yet to find a decent way home to Burke
> Centre. I thought that 28 to 66 or Braddock would
> be reasonable, but 28 backs up to 50 during the
> evening rush due to a combination of these
> lights.
>
> Unless anyone has a better suggestion, the "best"
> route that I have found is 28 to Frying Pan to
> FXCO Parkway which moves reasonably well until 50
> or Fair Lakes. It is slow the rest of the way to
> Popes Head, but bearable.

FFX Co. Parkway moves pretty well the entire way (except sometime at Popes Head as has been noted) EXCEPT for the stupid Fair Lakes light. The Monument light right before certainly doesn't help either. Why they didn't make that an interchange when they built Fair Lakes boggles my mind. Some things are worth spending money on - that's one of them.

Pretty much everything on Route 7 also could count. Especially the Tyson's triple threat of Westpark+Spring Hill+Tyco. Then you have inside the beltway of Lisle/Magarity + Pimmit + Idylwood. Then all of Falls Church inside 66.

Braddock / Backlick as mentioned is always terrible (at least it was when I went through it regularly a decade ago).

28's improved so much w/ ramps at Westfields, Willard, McLearen and Frying Pan, but yeah - getting onto 66 is still ridiculous. So close, yet so far away.

236 through Annandale - awful.

I wonder if FFX Co. will just keep getting worse until Wolf Run Shoals and Clifton Rd. requires an overpass...

VDOT has a design for a flyover on the FXCO Parkway which would start somewhere near the Nortel building and Joe's Crabshack and continue past Monument, but there is no funding for this in the foreseeable future. While just about every intersection on the Parkway has its share of problems, this one stands out as being pretty bad just about any time of day.

Intersections like Popes Head and Franklin Farms have periods of slow-moving traffic, but nothing like Fair Lakes. On the other hand, I am surprised that you never see a backup at Burke Centre Parkway.

Excellent observations guys, thanks for the help, will be putting all this into consideration once I complete this project and send them a letter with all the information I have gathered. (And no, this is not the only forum I posted this question.)

Perhaps in the future, they will see the valuable time we can save on the road and spend it more with our families/work/important errands no?

Cheers.

snowdenscold Wrote:
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> FFX Co. Parkway moves pretty well the entire way
> (except sometime at Popes Head as has been noted)
> EXCEPT for the stupid Fair Lakes light. The
> Monument light right before certainly doesn't help
> either. Why they didn't make that an interchange
> when they built Fair Lakes boggles my mind. Some
> things are worth spending money on - that's one of
> them.
>
> Pretty much everything on Route 7 also could
> count. Especially the Tyson's triple threat of
> Westpark+Spring Hill+Tyco. Then you have inside
> the beltway of Lisle/Magarity + Pimmit + Idylwood.
> Then all of Falls Church inside 66.
>
> Braddock / Backlick as mentioned is always
> terrible (at least it was when I went through it
> regularly a decade ago).
>
> 28's improved so much w/ ramps at Westfields,
> Willard, McLearen and Frying Pan, but yeah -
> getting onto 66 is still ridiculous. So close, yet
> so far away.
>
> 236 through Annandale - awful.
>
> I wonder if FFX Co. will just keep getting worse
> until Wolf Run Shoals and Clifton Rd. requires an
> overpass...


Actually, 236 through Annandale is timed pretty well.

I head east (towards DC) every morning at 8ish and actually hope to get a red light at 236 & Hummer/Heritage. When that light turns green, I usually (80-90%) sail all the way through Annandale without stopping. However, I keep it at or near the speed limit because timed lights don't work if you're going too fast or too slow.

The turn from Telegraph Road to King Highway in the afternoon takes forever.It is frustrating even if you are not driving.

say Wrote:

>
> Actually, 236 through Annandale is timed pretty
> well.
>
> I head east (towards DC) every morning at 8ish and
> actually hope to get a red light at 236 &
> Hummer/Heritage. When that light turns green, I
> usually (80-90%) sail all the way through
> Annandale without stopping. However, I keep it at
> or near the speed limit because timed lights don't
> work if you're going too fast or too slow.


Interesting. I am mostly speaking from afternoon experiences, so I am not familiar with morning timings.

CheekyMonkey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> VDOT has a design for a flyover on the FXCO
> Parkway which would start somewhere near the
> Nortel building and Joe's Crabshack and continue
> past Monument, but there is no funding for this in
> the foreseeable future. While just about every
> intersection on the Parkway has its share of
> problems, this one stands out as being pretty bad
> just about any time of day.
>

I drive through there at least 3 times a week. What I usually have to do is take the road that goes by Kohls/Dicks and then come out on fair lakes at the end of it.

The developer of the whole Fair Lakes area was supposed to have contributed a sum of money towards the construction of this interchange. But of course VDOT still can't do it.

VDOT has a design for a flyover on the FXCO Parkway which would start somewhere near the Nortel building and Joe's Crabshack and continue past Monument, but there is no funding for this in the foreseeable future. While just about every intersection on the Parkway has its share of problems, this one stands out as being pretty bad just about any time of day.

According to Pat Herrity's office this is funded with stimulus "ARRA" money--about $80M; it went to advertisement last month.

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/springfield/pdf_files/herrity_report/april_2010.pdf

MBF Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> According to Pat Herrity's office this is funded
> with stimulus "ARRA" money--about $80M; it went to
> advertisement last month.

Thanks for the link! That is really great news and I hope that it comes to fruition as scheduled - that area will continue to be a traffic bottleneck given how dependent commuters and shoppers are on the FXCO Parkway. Too bad that my supervisor (Cook) or the Chairman could not be troubled to give us this update.

The only downside (there is always a downside with traffic improvements) will be the extra congestion for 2-3 years.

Here's my vote(s):

1. Rt. 28 southbound from Westfields to 66. I get fucked here if I stop by my mom's place in the afternoon/evening

2. Southbound FFX Co. Parkway from Spring Street to Sunrise Valley Drive. I get fucked here almost every evening.

3. Route 123/Braddock Road - no matter which direction or road, it's hell.

4. Route 50/Waples Mill. Morning or Afternoon. Afternoon is the worst

5. All of Tysons Corner - basically anything along Route 7 from 66 to the Access Road, all of 123 by the mall, Spring Hill, Tyco...

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.

Warhawk Wrote:
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>
> 5. All of Tysons Corner - all of 123 by
> the mall,

The intersection of 123 and International Drive is the worst intersection in Tysons, and maybe the whole county.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=38.920342,-77.226366&spn=0,0.002771&z=19&layer=c&cbll=38.919767,-77.226319&panoid=YpGnUv_lSzizN4PBQ7NUTg&cbp=12,359.73,,0,-3.45


It is the most prone for gridlock than I've seen anywhere in FFX or Arlington. You have traffic pouring out of those office parks mixing in with mall traffic, all trying to get toward the Beltway. Heading in the McLean direction, sometimes it backs up all the way back past the onramp from 7. The traffic pattern leaves cars "stuck in the box" during red lights, and the beltway entrance is usually backed up, making that intersection even more of a bottleneck. Sort of a double bottleneck.

They honestly need to do something about that intersection.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2010 01:43PM by TheMeeper.

3



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/2015 11:41PM by WingNut.

My vote is for the intersection in fx city 50 and main street.

South 28 to 66... where else does the traffic back up to a light 5 miles? I've seen it back up as far as McLearan Rd. on nights it rains. Seems like there is an endless green light for folks turning on Braddock.

After writing many emails, the answer I get is that light never was part of the 28 tax district due to being on park land... aslo the cost of redesigning the whole 66/28/Braddock interchange is very expensive.

If they cant afford to do it right, other less costly options are to build a flyover to 66 or improve the Westfields area enough to eliminate the left turn onto Braddock.

Some 28 freeway- traffic was never this bad with the lights.

you have to take the rt 50 exit, go over the interchange and end up in the exit lane for willard road. Get off and take walney all the way to the pond and go thru that neighborhood with all the speed bumps to get to stringfellow.

I always try to drive at least 35 over each bump to piss off the residents who feel that the state-owned roads are only for the use of people who live in the neighborhood. Of course I get stuck behind some dumbass in a low-rider who is afraid to go more than 5 mph over one

Powerful_Crab Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What is the one intersection that you get caught
> at and go "FML" due to its unnatural delay in
> changing lights?
>
> I am doing a science project on how fucked up the
> VDOT system really is.


Not sure, but the shortest is Stringfellow Rd at Fairfax County Parkway.

From Stringfellow, it's 10 Seconds of Green Light.

Telegraph Rd from S Kings Hwy to S Van Dorn. By far the worse in the county during rush hours. It so bad, VDOT placed no u-turn signs all over the place so traffic can't try and change directions to avoid the red lights.

Any and all stop lights on Prosperity Avenue, from Dunn Loring to Little River Turnpike. They all SUCK, but the worst is when coming from the Dunn Loring Metro on Prosperity. There are two back-to-back lights at Hilltop then Rt. 29 (the two roads separated only by the Rite Aid). They are not timed, so it can take three cycles to get through both lights. It will take four or five cycles if some idiot is lost and has to make a U-turn...........from the far RIGHT lane.

Mac Wrote:
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> After writing many emails, the answer I get is -snip- improve the Westfields area enough to eliminate the left turn onto Braddock.

Do you actually have this comment in an email from VDOT?

KeepOnTruckin Wrote:
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> I always try to drive at least 35 over each bump
> to piss off the residents who feel that the
> state-owned roads are only for the use of people
> who live in the neighborhood.

To do this properly, slow down and lay on the horn as you cross each speed bump.

The locals should like that. After all, they wanted speed bumps to improve safety, and what is safer than announcing your passage often and loud?