WASHINGTON — The 26-day government shutdown has made driving in our area easier by cutting some morning commutes almost in half, says a report just released by a group that analyzes traffic in the Washington metro area.
“Overall the analysis indicates that there has been a considerable reduction in congestion on the region’s major roadways during the morning commuter period this year on account of the partial shutdown of the federal government agencies and the impacted private sector (federal contractors) businesses,” said the report discussed in a Wednesday meeting of the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board.
The report found that evening commutes leaving Washington were not as impacted by the government shutdown, likening the shift in traffic to summertime, but stressed that “morning speed increases during the partial federal government shutdown period have been more dramatic.”
The report found that I-270 drivers between Frederick and Gaithersburg saw their 23-mile commutes drop by 23 minutes, a 41 percent improvement over last January.
Drivers on the outer loop of the Capital Beltway between I-270 and I-66 saw their commutes get nine minutes faster, a 43 percent improvement.
The report did not factor in the impact on schools not being in session for the first part of the month and if weather, incidents, construction, or fuel prices played a role.
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