Fredericksburg questions from Springfield resident

Got a question for those who slug to/from Fredericksburg, specifically on Fridays. I live near Springfield and normally don't go down further on weekdays, but I also frequently travel to Charlottesville during football season via the I-95/Route 3/Route 20 way (as opposed to I-66 to US-29, which is out of the way) and I'm wondering if anyone can fill me in on the following:

(1) Assume that I pick up one slug for somewhere down near Fredericksburg (as I already have one rider). How long should I expect it to take from the end of the HOV lanes to Fredericksburg? How is the traffic past the end of the HOV lanes? I'm trying to assess whether it makes more sense just to go out the HOV-2 lane on I-66 to Manassas (recognizing that there are scads of violators there so the HOV lane isn't always fast).

(2) If I do go to Fredericksburg, is the Route 17 line or the Route 3 line a more practical destination, recognizing that in any case I am taking Route 3 west to Route 20 at Wilderness? I know where the Route 3 lot is because I pass it on the way to and from Charlottesville all the time, but I don't have a sense of how long it takes to go from I-95 to Route 17, and then back onto I-95 and down to Route 3 west. It sounds from these boards as though it's easier to get a rider to Route 17, and I also want to avoid the infamous "B.O. Lady" at Route 3. Can anyone shed any light on the situation?

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide.

I'll be daring and estimate that the average time it takes to get from the end of the HOV to Fredericksburg on a Friday is 35-60 minutes. It sounds harsh perhaps but that's because anytime a car stops on the side of the road for whatever reason, people feel the need to come to an abrupt stop, stare/gawk, and slowly roll on -- especially on Friday it seems.

For your purposes, I would actually say that Rt. 3 would be a better choice. Even though it's closer to I-95, Route 17 can prove troublesome for you after you've dropped off your slugs and head back to the highway...it's pretty packed in both directions.

However, as Swichowski said above, now that summer's over it's a little easier, but I'm not sure how much easier. Hope this helps.

K.O.

I'm familiar with that alternative but it seems kind of out of the way as it puts you onto US-29 just over 58 miles north of Charlottesville after you take US-17 back northwest for some distance. The other reason for preferring Route 3 and Route 20 is that it avoids all the cops in Madison and Greene Counties But thanks all the same, I appreciate any and all responses.

quote:

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If you were to pick up a slug for Route 17, there's no need to go back to Route 3. My daughter is in college at Radford and I live on Route 17. When we visit her, we go down 17 to 28/29 and take 29 all the way down.

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Edited by - USA on 08 Oct 2002 14:43:42

Well, your estimate of 40-45 minutes to make it down the HOV is a bit long...you'll get to the end in more like 30 minutes going the speed limit...20 if you fly!

K.O.

I have seen people make it to Rt 3 in 50 minutes from the Pentagon and then sometimes take 1 hr. 20 minutes. So from the end of the HOV3 30-40 minutes I would say is average, and I haven't seen BO Lady for a couple weeks, although I jumped into a car she was already in over a month ago, and you WILL know who she is and can pass her over, it's your car.
Hope that helps.

thirdbag