Memorial Day 2019: Worst Times To Travel Around Virginia, DC

VIRGINIA—With Memorial Day being the unofficial start of summer, many families will hit the roads toward beaches and other destinations. A record 1,077,600 people in the DC area are anticipated to travel by car, train or plane this Memorial Day weekend, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic's projections. Most of these—960,800—will be on the roads.

That translates to delays on major roads in Northern Virginia and the DC region. INRIX predicts that trips times will be tripled. But there's a particular warning for those returning from the beaches via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on Memorial Day.

"The ‘Mother of Dragons,’ or as it were, of all delays will occur on Memorial Day on a 32 mile stretch of westbound US 50, as travel delays increase over 300% and travel times stretch from 1 hour and 45 minutes to two hours and twenty minutes," said John B. Townsend II, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s manager of public and government affairs, in a news release. "If you know what’s good for you, avoid traveling around those hours and times when roads have historically been busiest."

Delays could begin to worsen on the Capital Beltway as early as Wednesday, May 22. The peak travel time for the Beltway going clockwise is May 22 at 4 p.m. For the counter-clockwise direction, the worst travel time is May 23 at 6 p.m.

Below are the worst travel times on major DC area roads.

A word on congestion, HOV and tolls in Virginia

If you're traveling within Virginia, the state compiles its own historical data on Memorial Day weekend travel. The Virginia Department of Transportation's 2019 Memorial Day travel trends map shows where congestion is likely to occur at different hours of the day. Based on historical data, VDOT expects moderate to heavy congestion between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday, May 24 and Monday, May 27, as well as midday over the weekend. Interstates 95 south and 64 east could see congestion Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon, while 95 north and 64 west will be congested from noon to late evening Monday.

VDOT says most lane closures will be lifted from noon on May 24 to noon on May 28, with some work zone exceptions. The list of work zone impacts on Memorial Day weekend is available here.

The holiday weekend brings several changes on HOV restrictions and tolls. On May 27, VDOT will lift HOV restrictions in Northern Virginia on I-66 and I-395 and 66 tolls inside the Beltway. In Hampton Roads, there will be no HOV restrictions on I-64/I-264/I-564 HOV diamond lanes and no tolls on 64 Express Lanes.

Interstate 95 Express Lanes from Springfield to Stafford will operate. Transurban, which runs the 95 Express Lanes, says the Express Lanes can save time, but toll pricing may be higher during busy travel times. Last Memorial Day weekend, drivers on 95 Express Lanes saved an average of 40 minutes during busy travel times. The toll operator anticipates the best travel times are before 3 p.m. or after 7 p.m. Thursday, before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. Friday, and before 9 a.m. or after noon on Saturday. Real-time tolling prices are available at www.expresslanes.com.

Transurban also announced several schedule changes for the reversible 95 Express Lanes:

• Thursday, May 23: Southbound direction opens around 12:30 p.m.
• Friday, May 24: Southbound direction opens around 12:30 p.m.
• Saturday, May 25: Normal reversal schedule and open northbound around 4 p.m.
• Sunday, May 26: Open northbound all day. The 95 Express Lanes will be closed from 7:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. for Rolling Thunder or until the event is finished.
• Monday, May 27: Open northbound all day

Stay updated on real-time road conditions at www.511virginia.org or through the free app.