From Landmark (Alexandria City) to McLean by 8:30 am (Arlington, Annandale: home, live)

[Alanboy395]

I may get a new job that will require 3 wks of training in McLean. What is the least time-comsuming way to get there by 8:30 am? I know i'll be sitting in traffic a lot maybe 45 to 60 min. I live right at duke St (landmark) and 395. would taking 236 to the beltway be better or 395 south to the beltway be faster? how bout coming back (leaving at 4:30 pm) the best way to go; beltway to 395 north or beltway to 236 east?

[seldomseen]

It's really tough to give a single definative answer to your question. However, to play it safe, and to give yourself time to negotiate any sort of unexpected accident, weather etc. You may want to be leaving your home by 7:00am to play it safe when you start. There ain't nothing worse than running late, and being stuck in gridlock! The hurry up and wait attitude can save your job in NoVa!!! lol

Good Luck!

[claremarie]

Depending upon your ultimate destination in McLean, another route to consider is 395 north to the GW Parkway (which is NOT well-marked, you have to follow the signs to Arlington Cemetery/Memorial Bridge) to 123.

[saganista]

Tough trek from Landmark to the Parkway, and you'd have to retrace almost all those miles to get back out to McLean. It is true though that the Parkway once north of 395 is speed limit all the way to Tysons. Something else to try one day might be 236 to Annandale Road which becomes Gallows Road. Traffic can get rough on that as you get close to Tysons, but again depending on where in McLean you'd be headed, there may be shortcuts and back roads to get around the worst of that...

[Alanboy395]

ok apparently i got the job offered to me so now all i have to do is accept the offer and find out the actual address. Until next Tuesday i may go from mclean to my old job in Baileys crossroads to work for my final paycheck.

How about metro, possibility?

[saganista]

Depending on the actual job location, Metro might be an option if you don't mind arriving at work sometime during 2012. That's when direct rail service to Tysons is scheduled to open, but they'll need to build it first. In the meantime, there are various Metrobus connections into the Tysons area from the outer Orange Line stations. Check the Trip Planner at wmata's website (behind the Maps & Stations link) to see which would be best. I don't use the buses, but I see them running out of both Vienna and Dunn Loring, and service is both frequent and heavily used, so they must be doing something right.

Tysons to Bailey's Crossroads is a straight shot down Route 7. I have done that run twice in the past 3-4 months in the 4:30 to 5:00 range, and it was somewhat surprisingly not bad at all either time. I may have just been lucky, but it still might be worth a shot as a first draft.

[Alanboy395]

ok here's the address

1753 Pinnacle DR
Mclean, va 22102

turns out i wont have to make that trip to bailey's x-rds after all. now i need the quickest way to tysons and back to landmark.

[saganista]

Well, that's not too, too bad. It's right at the very top of the hill under the big microwave tower, between the Holiday Inn and Da Domenico (an Italian restaurant...pretty nice). But it's a little weird to get into. It's also close to 495. So is Landmark, and since you could do 395 outbound, I think I'd just gamble that the inner loop won't be all that bad in the morning. Take that to Rte. 123-South (also outbound), then go past Tysons II on your right (also past Pinnacle Drive, btw, but there's no easy way to access it from there), then just over the top of the hill, exit to Rte. 7-West (also outbound), and here's where it gets a little weird. Almost right away, you'll need to turn right at the first light (which is Pinnacle), but it's virtually a U-turn, so go very slow and be really careful. Wind back up the hill past the Men's Warehouse, past Clyde's, then past Da Domenico (all of these are on your left and plainly visible). Back on top of the hill and just past the white building that Da Domenico is in, there is what appears to be a left turn onto a small side road. But that's Pinnacle Drive, so you need to make that left turn. If you don't, you'll be dumped back into regular Tysons. 1753 will be just a few hundred feet along on that seeming side road. I don't know which side it's on, but if you come to another intersection (Greensboro), you went too far.

Getting out in the afternoon, there should be less traffic. I'd try the Beltway again. Follow Pinnacle in the same direction that you were going in the morning down to the intersection at Greensboro. Turn right. At the next intersection (light), turn right again onto International Drive, then get over into one of the left turn lanes. Take Rte. 123-North, follow the signs for 495-South (the first entrance), and I bet you've got it from there.

[Alanboy395]

i just looked up the metro/bus thing (mama's idea) and unless i want to have to leave at 6:30, i'll have to stick to driving.

how long should i expect to sit in traffic if i leave at 7 or 7:30 am and leave @ 4:30 pm?

[saganista]

It's a crap shoot. If the Beltway is moving (and sometimes it is), it's probably 35-40 minutes. It's July and soon August, so total traffic volume should be about as low as it gets. If there are backups or a fender-bender though, it could easily be over an hour. Haven't been out there today, but the inner loop yesterday at 10:00 between Gallows and Van Dorn was at about 3 mph. Ugly! At 11:30, it was at a speed limit clip.