Commute from McLean to Ft Belvoir (Arlington: buying a house, buying, move)

[newhere11]

We are going to be relocating to the Northern Va area and are thinking about buying a house in McLean. My husband will be working in Ft. Belvoir. Any ideas about how long that commute will take on good and bad days? Thanks.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by newhere11

We are going to be relocating to the Northern Va area and are thinking about buying a house in McLean. My husband will be working in Ft. Belvoir. Any ideas about how long that commute will take on good and bad days? Thanks.

I commute to Belvoir from N. Arlington near Ballston. Takes me 45 minutes on 395 or 50 if I go GW Parkway (longer but slower and less stressful).

For you, probably depends on where in McLean--the closer to GW Parkway, the better. (I suppose you could also take the Dulles Toll Road to 495 to 395--but that's gonna have a lot of traffic. And I-66 is HOV-only.)

[newhere11]

Thanks for the response. We'd be really close to the entrance to the GW Parkway. We're a little spoiled with his commute being only 20 mins right now, and its going to be hard to give that up. But we're excited about the move -- been reading these forums with great interest.

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by newhere11

Thanks for the response. We'd be really close to the entrance to the GW Parkway. We're a little spoiled with his commute being only 20 mins right now, and its going to be hard to give that up. But we're excited about the move -- been reading these forums with great interest.

My new favorite tool is google maps' traffic predictor. I posted about this in another thread, but you can test it out on your future commute:

1) Type in your starting/destination or center the map to show your commute
2) Select "traffic" from the upper right hand box on the map
3) Select "change" from the lower left-hand box on the map
4) Select "Day and Time" and drag the ticker back and forth to see areas of congestion at a given time on a given day.

It won't give you a time, but it will give you a good estimate on where you'll hit grid lock, and you can probably guesstimate based on that.

[SallyField]

I don't commute to Belvoir, but my guess would be around 45 minutes in the mornings, add 5 or 10 minutes in the evenings (assuming you're coming from 22101 and not 22102).

The good thing is that there are a number of ways you could go from McLean, so he'd probably find something he prefers. GW Parkway to 395 or all the way to Rt 1, and 123 to 495 would be the most obvious choices. But I think any way you slice it, about 45 minutes (AM) and 50-55 minutes (PM) is what he's looking at.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by newhere11

Thanks for the response. We'd be really close to the entrance to the GW Parkway. We're a little spoiled with his commute being only 20 mins right now, and its going to be hard to give that up. But we're excited about the move -- been reading these forums with great interest.

You're most welcome. His commute will be longer than he's used to, but GWMP is really a pleasant, scenic drive--aside from a brief stretch of traffic you hit near Rosslyn.

Just realized: He'll have to use the Tulley Gate till he gets the DoD windshield stickers for his car; then he can use the Walker Gate (much closer to GWMP and much less jammed).

[CAVA1990]

He'll be going against traffic both ways on the Parkway so it shouldn't be bad. It's a really pleasant drive. Get him a convertible if he doesn't already have one.

[newhere11]

LOL! Not if we buy a house in Mclean. He'll be driving one of our old beat up cars for now . Thanks to everyone who helped out.