My Traffic Troubles
Today was one of those worse-than-usual traffic days in Washington. I left my house on time for once and was happy NOT to hear about any of my usual roadways on the traffic report. It wasn’t until I hit the GW Memorial Parkway that I heard on the radio that it was “closed” at 123 due to an overturned vehicle.
The GW Parkway is one of my favorite things in Washington—maybe because I actually dislike the D.C. Metro area quite a bit. It’s not usually as trafficy and it gives a gorgeous view of the river. As I sat in my car, practically parked on the parkway, I thought about my options. First, I could wait it out because they had to clear the accident eventually; second, I could try to get off at 123 and try to find my way to work from there (this would have been slightly tricky, but doable); third, I could drive over the grass that divides the two sides of the parkway and backtrack to 495. The grass that serves as a median strip is about 2-3 inches above the road; it’s where cops park when setting up speed traps, where disabled vehicles move, and where speeders pull off when caught by said cops. It was also quite muddy by this time.
Nervously, I waited until I HAD to make a decision; I approached a spot where I couldn’t drive in the grass. So, right before it, I made sure things were clear on the other side of the parkway and did it. I drove over the grass, made it to 495, and it took extra time (and 16 freaking extra miles), but I made it to work less than an hour late.
Thank God for my SUV; I think a smaller car would have gotten stuck in the mud. I felt myself stick a little, but I knew that I could use my 4-wheel drive, if necessary. What’s funny, though, is if I’d taken the Greenway this morning, I would have missed the accident, been to work early, and not wasted as much gas. That would have been worth the $3.00.
