South Riding to Adelphi, MD - am i nuts?! (Leesburg: rental, houses)

[BAtoCO]

Just wondering what the commute will be like from South Riding to Adelphi, MD. I know it's quite a ways and I was wondering if anyone has a similar commute and can shed some light on how long it takes, when to leave in the AM and PM and what routes to take/avoid etc. Are there any alternatives to driving?

Thanks in advance for your input!

[Fundman]

In my opinion that would be an absolutely insane commute. I would guess it would be 1 3/4 hours minimum during rush hour. The most straight forward route would be 50 to 66 to the Beltway. The only way it would be remotely possible if you became one of those people who leave for work at like 6:00 am.

[BAtoCO]

Thank you. What if one takes 606 to 267 (toll) and then on to the rest?

I know traffic sucks but have a really good job opportunity there!

[FCNova]

I had no clue where Adelphi was but it looks like a tad past Silver Spring. I commute to Silver Spring MD everyday from Tysons Corner. It's not the greatest but bearable. Getting from South Riding to Tysons is also a pretty bad commute. And you pretty much want to roll both of those into one big awful commute. It would have to be a pretty amazing job opportunity for me to consider that.

To answer your last question I don't think the toll road is too bad during rush hour, but getting there from South Riding can be. They just built so many houses out in South Riding, and didn't have the roads. And now almost everyone who lives there is pretty much trying to commute in the same direction.

[michgc]

Yes (the answer to your subject line question). In non-rush hour, the time mapquest estimates is 52 minutes. And it's 39 miles. I used to commute 18 miles from Vienna to Rockville and it took 35 minutes in the morning (Mapquest estimates 29 minutes) and 45-50 in the afternoon. On bad days such as Friday afternoons or other random accident days, which occured with some regularity, it could take up to 1 hour 15 minutes. And the last 5 miles of my commute were AGAINST traffic (traveling north on I-270 in the morning).

So at best, I was averaging 30 miles per hour. At worst, about 15 miles per hour. If we project that to your commute of 39 miles, it would take one hour 20 minutes at best and over 2 hours at worst.

I could not imagine doing that for any length of time or 5 days per week.

[sullyguy]

Originally Posted by BAtoCO

Just wondering what the commute will be like from South Riding to Adelphi, MD.

Fly yourself from Leesburg airport or Dulles to Freeway, arrange a longterm rental or junker car at Freeway.

Easy and quick commute.

At least compared to the drive.

[BAtoCO]

Thanks - anyone else with any insight into this (say if u have a similar commute)? Any advice on hours to leave in the morning and evening to make this doable?

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by BAtoCO

Thanks - anyone else with any insight into this (say if u have a similar commute)? Any advice on hours to leave in the morning and evening to make this doable?

It depends what your definition of doable is. It's technically doable no matter what time you leave, you just may be spending 4 hours a day driving. The farther away from rush hour time you can make this commute the more pleasant it will be though. I don't know how long it will take you, even if you left at like 6am. But I know it will take alot longer if you leave at 7:30.

[spencgr]

I go from Middleburg to NW DC (Tenleytown) and I average 1.5 hours, each way. (I can do door to door in 1 hour, with no traffic.) You're going to have a couple of issues with your commute. First, both ways (50 E and 606 N) out of South Riding are currently slow all morning. While they are widening 50, construction isn't supposed to be complete for another couple of years.

Second, you will have to deal with the Beltway. While it won't be too bad in the morning (normally moving at speed until I exit at Clara Barton Pkwy), the afternoon will be a killer. I won't even get back on the Beltway in the afternoon for two miles, and it looks like you'll have to come all the way around for 10+ miles. I think this will add a lot. My guess is you are looking at an (almost) 2 hour commute, each way.

Unfortunately, due to the length of the commute, leaving early isn't really going to help too much. You may miss some of the Loudoun traffic, but, by the time you get to the top of the Beltway, you are stuck in prime traffic time. Same with the afternoon. This will be a bear.

(BTW, I leave at 6:30 am, and try to leave DC around 4:30 each day)

[michgc]

I think your best bet is to test drive it since you live in South Riding already. Leave at 6:30 AM and see how long it takes you. Of course, that might not be a typical day but it's probably better than other people guessing.