W'bridge (Old Bridge Rd school traffic/slugging) (Manassas, Woodbridge: house, live)

[DownEastB]

In a couple of weeks, my husband and I are relocating from the Buckhall area in Manassas to Woodbridge not far from Davis Ford Road and Prince William Parkway. I work in downtown DC (and sometimes near Court House metro) and currently take the VRE from Manassas Park. After we move, I am thinking of taking the Fredricksburg VRE line from Woodbridge station. The train leaving at 7:12 AM would work best. It looks like I would have to take Old Bridge Road every morning. What would the school traffic between Smoketown and Minnieville be like at that time?

Also, does anyone know if there are slug lines from Tacketts Mill to 14th St NW (anywhere from Pennsylvania to New York Ave) and roughly what time they leave? I tried looking at a website for slugging in DC, but it doesn't seem very updated. Thanks!

[HokieFan]

As far as Old Bridge, I suggest leaving your house no later than 6:30am. If you leave at that time, you'll see some delays at traffic lights but nothing terrible. If you leave any later than that, traffic starts to get significantly worse.

I get on Old Bridge at Springwoods Drive, and if I leave at even 10 minutes later at 6:40am there is a noticeable difference. If I leave at 6:45, it's even worse.

I don't know about slug lines at Tacketts Mill but I do know there are some at the Horner Road commuter lot. That's where my husband used to carpool from. He would leave the house at 5:30am and I think it would take him about 10-12 minutes to get to that commuter lot.

There also may be some commuter buses that would work for you as there is a 14th and NY stop. If you go with that option, I'd recommend parking and leaving from the 123 commuter lot. Then your bus ride is roughly 40 minutes.

OmniRide Lake Ridge-Washington AM Schedule

[Lemming95]

Do you have the sluglines.com link. They can help you with destinations. Tacketts doesn't have a downtown line just Pentagon and Rosslyn.
Old Bridge is packed, not just school traffic from 630 to 8. and in the afternoon rush quad/hours. (How do people get down to Woodbridge by 3?

[HokieFan]

I avoid Old Bridge coming home. Although there is a bit of a bottleneck at Exit 160, I'll get off at exit 158 (PWC Pkwy) and take the Parkway or Smoketown across town.

[johnsonkk]

The drive time to get to the woodbridge VRE is surprisingly long from the Balls Ford rd area. Leaving from the horner lot as a slug will probably be your quickest option.

Tackets, as an earlier post said, doesn't have slug routes to downtown but there is the PRTC buses that travel downtown. There are slug and bus routes to downtown DC in the slug lot at Old Bridge and hwy 123, which may work too.

The best part about the slug lots is that you can slug in and bus out. The PRTC buses primarily serve the 4-6 although they start around 3 and go until 8pm with less frequency.

[NOVA_guy]

I would do Horner Rd rather than Tacketts Mill, Horner gives you more options.

Also, as Hokie Fan has said.... Old Bridge is crazy, try using PW Pkwy and Smoketown if you can to avoid it. It's going to add significant time on to your commute.

[HokieFan]

I paid attention to the timing this morning. I live about 1.5 miles off Old Bridge, again off Springwoods Drive and 7.1 miles from I-95 at Rt. 123. I left my house at 6:25am this morning, and was on I-95 16 minutes later.

[DownEastB]

Sorry for not checking in since asking the question. Between the new job and moving, my free time has vanished. Thank you for the helpful and realistic replies. I can easily branch off to the PW parkway instead of staying on Old Bridge, so will look into that. Sounds like Horner might be my best option. Only thing concerning me there is the tire thefts, but maybe they will step up patrols now that it's happened again recently.

Buses I didn't even think about. I checked out the OmniRide link HokieFan posted. There is a stop right next to my building -- perfect! Tried to rep you but I need to "spread it around" like it's strawberry jam or something. =) Seriously, I really appreciate the help.

[HokieFan]

Originally Posted by DownEastB

Sorry for not checking in since asking the question. Between the new job and moving, my free time has vanished. Thank you for the helpful and realistic replies. I can easily branch off to the PW parkway instead of staying on Old Bridge, so will look into that. Sounds like Horner might be my best option. Only thing concerning me there is the tire thefts, but maybe they will step up patrols now that it's happened again recently.

Buses I didn't even think about. I checked out the OmniRide link HokieFan posted. There is a stop right next to my building -- perfect! Tried to rep you but I need to "spread it around" like it's strawberry jam or something. =) Seriously, I really appreciate the help.

The wheel thefts have been going on for quite some time. However, my husband parked in that lot for 6 years, and didn't have any trouble with theft or vandalism. Thank goodness!

You're welcome for the link!

[Fundman]

Don't take the VRE. Drive to the Tackett's Mill or Old Bridge/Minnieville commuter parking lot and take the Omniride bus.