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Avoiding driving through dc?

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I will be going to williamsburg,va in a few weeks. I will be coming down I- 270 and wondered if getting on hwy 15 in frederick, md and taking 15 to hwy 234 thru Dale City to connect to I-95 south would be a good idea?

what kind of road is hwy 15 ? 2 lane, 4 lane, lights? slow or what?

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I've done this many times - although not all the way to Dale City - we live in Vienna, so we've taken the Greenway in to Dulles when we do it.

The answer to your question is that it depends entirely on when you are traveling. 15 is highway right to the bridge over the Potomac River, then it becomes a two lane road until you get to Leesburg, a distance of about 12 miles. Then it becomes four lane again.

For this trip, the distance is almost identical (from our house to harrisburg this way is exactly the same mileage as the beltway. We actually checked it once. If the roads are good, then this is a longer trip by about 10 or 15 minutes. But if you lose ANY time on 270, 95 or 495 you suddenly are in much worse shape this way.

If it's morning rush hour (7-10 AM), lunch time (11 - 1 PM), evening rush hour (4 to 7 PM) or Friday or Sunday evening, then the trip is going to be better through leesburg.

But I have an even better suggestion, if you want it. Don't stop at 234. Take 15 to Warrenton, then get on 29/15 South, then switch to 17 south, and take 17 to Fredricksburg, Virginia, to get back on 95. That way you miss 95 between Dale City and Fredricksburg, which is another area that is usually very congested. That makes this choice a winner every time!

15 and 17 are rural highways, that is 2-4 lanes wide but not limited access. Still there is little traffic between Warrenton and Fredricksburg, and I think extending your idea all the way to Fredricksburg makes huge sense.

P.S. I just checked, and if you do a mapquest from Point of Rocks, MD (where the bridge is on Rte 15) to Williamsburg, MapQuest takes you exactly this route, so it's probably shorter than returning to 95 at Dale City. Source(s): personal experience (lived here over 25 years)
and www.mapquest.com
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rt 15 is a two lane rd most of the way. On the VA side just across the river the speed limit is 45mph until you get to Leesburg and often you get stuck behind someone not even going that fast. On the south side of Leesburg it is usually better but I rarely go south of rt 50.

Seems like you would be taking a big detour. Unless you are coming through at or near rush hour you might as well go all the way down 270 to 495 and around.
You do not mention if you're coming in from the North or if you're reversing direction by heading north on I-270 to US 15.

The other poster suggested taking US 17 - Let me suggest taking US 15 down to I-64 and taking I-64 East to I-295 East, which bypasses Richmond, and back to I-64 East.

I've been on US 15 through the entire state of VA and there are not many 4 lane stretches. However, the speed limit on the 2 lane stretches is mostly 55 - except when going through small towns. Heck, I've also taken US 522 from US 15 in Culpeper because US 522 heads more in the SE direction. I wound up taking US 522 to US 33 straight into downtown Richmond (there is an exit with I-295 - take that when heading to Williamsburg).

So, I would suggest taking US 15 to US 29 in Warrenton and exiting onto US 522 South.