[ad_1]
The messy combination of wet weather, airport and Reagan National Airport Friday evening.
Get live traffic updates from WTOP's Traffic Center here
WASHINGTON – Travelers heading to Reagan National Airport Friday afternoon and evening were red – literally. The messy combination of wet weather, airport construction and a meteorite shutdown of the metro at the George Washington Parkway.
Major backups were reported on the George Washington Parkway and Road 1 Friday afternoon and continued through the evening.
⚠ Traffic is gridlocked at the airport @wmataShutdown of 2 stations, including bears. Metro's free shuttles are also facing long wait times. We apologize for any inconvenience during this regional traffic issue. Passengers should leave the airport.
– Reagan Airport (@Reagan_Airport) November 9, 2018
Delays on the GW Parkway heading southbound back up all the way to the Memorial Bridge, according to the WTOP Traffic Center.
WTOP Traffic Reporter Bob Marburg said the heavy traffic around the airport was among the worst he's seen. There were reports of would-be carriers, presumably to catch flights. WTOP's Dave Dildine Said he saw travelers "bailing out of cars on foot and rushing to departures dragging suitcases behind."
Metro passengers were also treated to a frustrating commute.
The Crystal City and Reagan National Airport Metro stations on the Yellow and Blue Lines are closed by the end Veterans Day weekend for maintenance. The closure was well-publicized, to their frustration about both the shutdown and the delay.
The traffic headaches were expected but still seemed to catch many off-guard drivers.
Traffic around the airport "is an ungodly mess," one Twitter use wrote earlier Friday afternoon. "45 mins and counting from the waiting lot en route to the departure level."
Airport services had been expecting the roads instead of using this weekend, with more travelers driving to the terminals instead of taking Metro.
"We at the airport recommend that passengers drop off and pick up their friends inside our terminal parking garages. They're free for up to 60 minutes, "said airport spokesperson Rob Yingling. '
Metro closures, long backups at the George Washington Parkway and Route 1 in Crystal City.
Yingling airport passengers who are arriving late in the evening to consider picking up passengers on the upper level. "If they're coming in on a flight after that, it's often pretty quiet at that time," he said.
WTOP's Dave Dildine contributed to this report.
Like WTOP on Facebook and follow @WTOP on this article and others.
© 2018 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
[ad_2]
Source link
