Morning drive from Oakton to Alexandria on a weekday. (Richmond: condo, to live in)

[kutra11]

Hi:

I have to reach Alexandria (8850 Richmond Hwy, Alexandria, VA 22309) next Thursday at 8 am. Can I leave Oakton around 7:15 am and take 66 E, 495 S and 95 S to get there comfortably?

Thanks,
K

[HokieFan]

Assuming you are intending to take the FFX County Pkwy South exit from 95S, expect to hit Ft. Belvoir traffic.


If it were me, I would take 66E, 495 (be sure to stay in the local lanes) to Rt. 1 South (Exit 177A Richmond Hwy South/Ft. Belvoir), and give it 60-75 minutes to ensure I wasn't late - at least 60 minutes. Traffic on Rt. 1 South will be light in the morning rush (reverse commute), and the stoplights will be timed for rush hour. Now for a weekend or afternoon appointment, I would not recommend this route.

After your appointment (going back to Oakton), your route in the OP will be the best way to travel.

FWIW, I used to live in a condo behind where you are going so I'm familiar with that area.

[ItalianExec]

Why in the world would anybody get on 66 in Rush hour if they didnt have to? Parking lot some days.

Take 50 to 495 south, 95 South, Fairfax County pkwy exit. Allow 40-50 mins for you trip.

Hell with 66. Thats for noobs.

[farplaner]

I would be more worried about 66E traffic than 95S, to be honest...

Edit: beaten

[HokieFan]

^^^ Admittedly, I did not consider the parking lot that is 66E as I don't travel that route.

I would still give a try to taking Exit 177A from the Beltway, and driving Rt. 1 South to avoid Ft. Belvoir traffic.

95 South will not give you any trouble. The Ft. Belvoir traffic jams up the FFX County Pkwy South and Route 1 North as that is where a couple of major entrances to the base are accessed. It's not a great distance to travel (from 95S to the location you're going) but it can be slow going.

[snowdenscold]

Check the traffic the morning of, and if for some reason the 495 Outer Loop or 95-S happen to be really slow (usually they aren't but you never know), you could consider taking 66W out to the FFX Co Parkway and taking that all the way in as a backup/alternative.

[kutra11]

Thanks for the replies so far!

[roninsedge]

Whichever way you go. Stop off at the Roy Rogers for a quick bite afterwards.

[nyc2020]

if it's practical to get on 66 at the nutley st exit, that will be better than going local to get to 495, especially at that time of day. the biggest bottleneck between fairfax and vienna/falls church on 66E in the am and 66W in the pm is nutley st

if you leave at 7:15, i'd guess it'd take you up to 60 min.