Commuting to Rockville... (McLean, Leesburg, Fairfax: living, metro, areas)

[lala617]

I'm looking to live in the Tyson's/Fall's Church/McLean area and have to be at work in Rockville, MD at either 8 a.m. or 10 a.m. depending on the day. Does the bridge on 495 N. really back up around 7:30 or 9:30 a.m.?

Thanks

[Commodore64]

Yes.

It once (in 2005) took me (by car) from 1:30PM to 4:15PM to get from downtown Rockville, MD to the Tyson's Corner 123 exit of 495. Route taken, 270 to 495. Funny, Tripquest said 35 minutes... Go figure.

[Waterboy526]

Northern VA can be a mess. It's taken me 1:20 minutes to get from Sterling to Leesburg (10 miles straight shot down rt. 7). We're talking areas that are 25-35 miles west of DC. There was no accident, it was all volume traffic. I was literally pulling my hair out.

It's also taken me 3.5 hours to get from Fairfax to Fredericksburg. If you are traveling from Tysons to Rockville I would try and get the later day every time. Unless you're leaving at 5am, you might as well wait until 9:30. The traffic will be better @ 9:30 as opposed to 7:30am.

[terryandtouey]

That's a commute I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

Depending on where in Tyson's/Falls Church and where in Rockville, it might make more sense (and be cheaper) to use Metro.

If you don't have to live in Tyson's/Falls Church, you might want to consider living on the other side of the Potomac, just to make your commute a little easier.