Beltway Travelers Face Fourth-Most Congested Labor Day Traffic Nationwide

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Every Labor Day, millions of Americans hit the road for one "last" summer weekend, and 2012 will be no different according to INRIX, the leading provider of traffic information.  Through in-depth analysis of recent traffic trends in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, INRIX predicts that Washington, DC, the sixth-most congested city in the U.S.,(1) will move up to take the fourth spot for the worst cities for weekend road-trippers.

"Our analysis of traffic trends in Los Angeles combined with larger trends showing consumer spending on the rebound provides the perfect formula for Labor Day Getaway gridlock," said Jim Bak, INRIX Director of Community Relations. "Rush hour Friday will begin very early in the afternoon—possibly as early as 2 pm.  Travelers leaving on Saturday before noon should have no problems avoiding traffic."

Key insights from INRIX's Washington, D.C. metro area research include:

• Traffic will start to slow around 2 p.m. on Friday peaking between 5 and 6 p.m. before tapering off.  Congestion will be especially heavy on westbound Route 66 with speeds as slow as 20mph heading into Centreville, VA on Friday.
• Travelers leaving D.C. will have the best luck traveling after 7 p.m. Friday night or leaving or Saturday before lunchtime.
• Drivers headed south toward Virginia Beach should budget for significant delays and expect their trip to take 1.5 hours longer than normal due to heavy traffic.
• Best bet for a beach getaway will take travelers to Delaware Beaches such as Rehoboth or Bethany, where delays of under half an hour are expected.

As D.C. itself is a popular destination spot for holiday weekends, drivers can expect congestion to interfere with plans of getting into and out of the area. The best time to travel roads like the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, and I-395 will be after 7 p.m. on Friday, and before noon on Saturday of the holiday weekend. Given the expected increase in the number of holiday travelers, combined with inevitable road construction and unexpected delays due to accidents and other incidents, Bak advises travelers to use free tools like the INRIX Traffic app, to help ease drivers' getaway trips with up-to-the-minute information about traffic conditions and travel times.

Additional information about traffic delays heading to popular road trip destinations for Washington, DC residents is as follows:

Congestion will peak from 4 p.m. along the Capital Beltway and the inner loop will be very slow with speeds between 8mph and 25mph through the worst bottlenecks. The slowest areas include the American Legion Bridge, the Springfield, I-270 and I-95 interchanges.

Washington, D.C. to Virginia Beach, VA (via Williamsburg)

In previous years, holiday traffic along I-95 saw sporadic back-ups through Dale City and Stafford with speeds of around 25mph through the busiest areas. Thereafter traffic should run smoothly towards Richmond, where drivers will then take Interstate 64.

Expect speeds of barely 25 mph to build approaching Williamsburg; slow traffic will continue all the way to Newport News. From there, travel will return to normal until Virginia Beach.

Washington, D.C. to Maryland and Delaware Beaches

Expect long back-ups approaching the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tollbooths on both Friday afternoon and Saturday mid-morning.  After the tolls, traffic should remain light across the weekend along Route 50 and Route 404, with jams contained to coastal resorts only.

About INRIX

INRIX® is the largest global traffic intelligence platform in the world, delivering smart data and analytics to solve transportation issues worldwide. INRIX crowd sources data daily from more than 100 million vehicles and devices to deliver traffic and driving-related insight, as well as sophisticated analytical tools and services, across six industries in 31 countries.

With more than 200 customers and partners including Audi AG, ADAC, ANWB, BMW, the BBC, Ford Motor Company, the I-95 Coalition, MapQuest, Microsoft, NAVIGON, Nissan, O2, Tele Atlas, Telmap, Toyota and Vodafone, INRIX's real-time traffic information and traffic forecasts help drivers save time every day.  To experience the traffic technology revolution behind the next generation of transportation, navigation and location-based service applications, visit www.INRIX.com.

(1) As determined by the 2011 INRIX Traffic Scorecard, released May 2012.  For more information, see http://scorecard.inrix.com.

SOURCE INRIX