Dust Settled, Drivers Still Get Dizzy in Mixing Bowl

No sign can cure the core reason for confusion at the new Springfield interchange: Three highways still meet there, all of which end in "95," and one of which -- the Beltway -- travels in a circle.

Drivers approaching the interchange from the south and looking to take a right toward the Woodrow Wilson Bridge now go left to take a new flyover ramp that eventually goes to the right. Drivers heading to the left and Tysons Corner need to stay to the right to take another ramp that eventually funnels them the correct way.

That can confuse motorists, especially those unfamiliar with the area or making long-distance drives on I-95.

"When drivers' expectations are met, their reactions are quick and accurate. If expectations are violated, reactions are delayed somewhat, and the probability of committing an error is going to go up," said Martin Pietrucha, associate professor of civil engineering at Pennsylvania State University and director of the university's Transportation Operations Program. Having multiple decision points in a short period adds to the confusion, he said.

That's what the Mixing Bowl always has been about -- quick decisions. Now, when drivers heading north on I-95 want to continue into the District, they must exit onto I-395 north. Staying on I-95 north really means heading onto the outer loop of the Beltway, which is labeled both I-95 north and I-495 east. To head west on the Capital Beltway, drivers must follow signs to I-495 north.

There are no signs directing drivers to the inner loop or outer loop -- descriptions of Beltway direction that have long helped drivers figure out where they want to go.

And if motorists want to get off in Springfield, they are confronted by a single road with three designations, depending on the direction from which they approach: Franconia Road, Old Keene Mill Road and Route 644.

In one section of Old Keene Mill Road, sympathetic project officials painted the highway symbols onto the roadway to let drivers know the correct lane to be in. But painting similar symbols onto the highway lanes would cause more confusion because so many lanes are shared, they said.

After monitoring the interchange and its traffic movements, VDOT has added signs and modified two others, doubling the size of the "I-95" symbol. Other minor changes are under consideration.

Project engineers have been commended for rebuilding the interchange in largely the same footprint as the old one while keeping 430,000 vehicles a day flowing through the construction zone. The new interchange was designed to eliminate swerving and weaving by separating local and through traffic and allowing easier and safer connections among the highways.

One result is that a wrong lane choice will funnel a driver several miles through the intersection. But the exits just beyond the interchange have few signs to help motorists turn back around.

Leighton Cooper, 17, goes through the Mixing Bowl twice a day, heading between Clinton and a private high school in Oakton. But even he sometimes gets confused. One time he wound up on I-395 heading toward the District.

"I found my way back," he said. "It takes a couple of times."