Left turn onto 495 (Port Royal: design, transit, build)

[finecognac]

What's with the all the left turns onto 495 ? A a left turn on route 7 onto 495N, a left turn from Braddock onto 495S, a left turn from 123 onto 495N and I am sure there are more. With all these left turns to get onto 495, we are going to have traffic nightmare. What a wonderful job VDOT has done to push people into using mass transit.

[tysonsengineer]

I think the left turn from 123 onto 495N doesnt exist anymore (that was only in place when they were widening route 123). Same thing with the Route 7, I think its a temporary condition.

The bigger issue is going to be how many intersections the 495 HOT lanes will be ending with. Thats gonna make it tough to maintain 55 mph when traffic queues up

[jarednova]

According to this link and associated map, the 7-to-495N left turn is permanent. There will be no room for a ramp on the right due to the Express Lanes bridge.

http://virginiahotlanes.com/uploads/...gnal_FINAL.pdf
http://www.495expresslanes.com/image...ess-static.jpg

[weezycom]

the westbound Braddock Road / 495 left turn will be eliminated once the overpass widening is completed.

[finecognac]

Originally Posted by weezycom

the westbound Braddock Road / 495 left turn will be eliminated once the overpass widening is completed.

http://virginiahotlanes.com/uploads/...__BraddocK.pdf

That looks to be permanent. The Gallows rd exit to 495 is also a left turn.

[snowdenscold]

It must have taken a lot of careful planning to figure out to spend hundreds of millions of dollars and end up ADDING traffic lights to a bunch of major roads.

[brooklynborndad]

how many people actually go from westbound braddock to southbound 495?

Southbound 495 has no exits between Braddock and the mixing bowl. From say Bradlick, you can go via Edsall to I395 southbound.

[GustavoFring]

I thought the exit off of 7 onto 495 will just be for one or the other traffic. Either the hotlanes or the regular lanes will get their own non-light entrance...

So many people from Tysons are heading N on 495 in the evening, I can't see how that will be sustainable..

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

how many people actually go from westbound braddock to southbound 495?

~raising hand~

As do several of my neighbors.

To avoid the light, I've been stopping at the Swiss Bakery, pick up a goodie, and then head out with a right on red from Port Royal Rd to go to 495S.

[OrangeFish]

I found this when searching for something else on the VDOT site (from July 2008):

I-495/CAPITAL BELTWAY HOT LANES: Responses to Comments Received for the Public Record

Response to #86 (among others) re: traffic on Braddock Road:

"Traffic Studies have been conducted as part of the Interchange Justification Report (IJR).**The analysis included the comparison between no‐build conditions and the HOT project.** The operational analysis shows that traffic conditions on Braddock Road under the proposed HOT lanes will be similar to both existing conditions and conditions if this project was not built. HOT Lanes will not extend onto Braddock Road.**The interchange between Braddock and the Beltway provides an ideal location from an operational and geometric standpoint for a HOT Lanes access point. VDOT currently has no plans to widen Braddock Road outside the footprint of the Beltway HOT Lanes Project.**There is no item in the Six Year Improvement plan to widen Braddock Road,*nor is there any study currently ongoing that looks at widening Braddock Road.***The approaches on either side of Braddock Road Bridge will be widened only to the extent that allows them to be consistent with the bridge cross section."