Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Update: I-64 Afton delays cause long backups, frazzled commuters


Drivers were frustrated and frazzled after dealing with Monday's traffic backups on Afton Mountain due to repairs on an unstable mountainside. A necessary part of highway upkeep and maintenance for the safety of the public, the slow-down didn't help commuters who regularly drive the mountain.

I talked with one commuter who had to wait 20 minutes on Rt. 151 waiting at the stop sign to turn left onto Rt. 250 west going up Afton. Traffic was sluggish on the uphill side, and then going down into Waynesboro, vehicles were backed halfway up the mountain, at a standstill as workers tried to make their way home. Some commute times were doubled by the backup.

Another driver headed out to Charlottesville to her job at UVA Hospital only to find traffic on I-64 East already backed up to Fishersville. NBC-29 talked with some drivers and has more about the work being done to stop the mountain from sliding.

Update 4/23/2013: Traffic backups on I-64 at Afton Mountain continued to cause headaches on Tuesday as commuters dealt with clogged detours and standstills. It was common to hear commuters telling of drive times twice as long as usual. NBC-29 has a Tuesday, April 23, update about conditions on Afton.

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