American Dream

Making a Stop-and-Go Getaway for Summer
Roads to Region's Beaches Are Ranked Among Nation's Worst in Vacation Congestion

By Steven Ginsberg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 1, 2005; B01

Quotes:

Beachgoing Washingtonians will run into some of the worst summertime bottlenecks in the nation over what is expected to be a record-cracking Independence Day weekend, according to a national report released yesterday.

The survey found that three of the five most congested summer hot spots in the country are prime choices for Washingtonians: The Tidewater area ranked second, the Maryland-Delaware shore was third and the Outer Banks of North Carolina came in fifth.

Other popular destinations such as the New Jersey shore, Cape Cod and the Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish country also made the top 10. The Oregon coast topped the list of worst summertime drives.

"Many of us spend the beginning and end of our vacations sitting in congestion that rivals our daily commutes," said Greg Cohen, president and chief executive of the American Highway Users Alliance, one of the sponsors of the study.

Melanie Fett knows that she probably will be one of them this weekend. She's taking the seventh-worst drive in the nation to the Jersey shore to enjoy the beach with friends. At least, they'll be enjoying the beach; she'll be driving.

"It won't be much, like an afternoon," she said of her expected time on the sand. "It's a lot of driving for a little bit of time."

The summer bottleneck survey was a joint project of the Highway Users Alliance, AAA and TRIP, a transportation research group. Representatives from the groups called for more transportation funding to make changes, including widening roads, adding turn lanes and improving efforts to clear roads of accidents and breakdowns.

It also said that the limited number of bridges on many coastal routes adds delays, often reaching hours, on many trips. People going to the Delaware and Maryland shores, for instance, usually begin their vacations by sitting in long lines at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.