Day 4 of Metro’s SafeTrack brings more crowds, longer waits for train riders and backups for drivers

With Metro’s major safety program in full force this week, riders on the trains and drivers on the road have experienced increased waits and crowds.

And Thursday proved no different.

Metro riders reported crowded trains and longer than normal waits on the Silver and Orange lines as repair work is underway as part of Metro’s major overhaul plan called SafeTrack. On area roadways, there were no reports of major crashes, but there was plenty of heavy traffic on the Beltway and interstates 66 and 395.

Started clocking 395 @ 6:10 when the commute was about 12 min Now, 30 min later, travel time has tripled #VAtraffic pic.twitter.com/C4EmP0sql6

— ᒍᑌᒪIE ᗯᖇIGᕼT (@thejuliewright) June 9, 2016

Traffic experts said they don’t yet have exact numbers on how roadway traffic has been affected by Metro’s SafeTrack. The first part of the SafeTrack program involves work on the Silver and Orange lines, where trains are sharing a track between the Ballston and East Falls Church stops.

It wasn’t a pretty picture for plenty of drivers Thursday morning.

Here’s a snapshot from Google maps of live traffic just before 8 a.m., with areas such as the George Washington Memorial Parkway marked in red, noting heavy traffic.

And here’s a look at the relatively same area on a “typical” Thursday morning. Note there is less red.

66 inside the beltway is intense traffic, already 45+ mins to commute - thanks @wmata #SafeTrack #vatraffic

— David Brewster (@dwbrew) June 9, 2016

Even area buses, which have been touted as a better alternative to Metro and roadways, lately were having delays on Thursday morning because of traffic.

Art 55 all buses on the route are affected - Buses serving ART 55 are running 10-15 Minutes Slower due to Traff... https://t.co/YYxHn1enKv

— ART Alert (@ART_Alert) June 9, 2016

On Metro on Thursday, there was an added track problem at the Stadium-Armory stop that caused delays on the Silver, Orange and Blue lines.

For the first three days of its SafeTrack program, Metro said its ridership fell by more than 25 percent at stations west of Ballston.

Some tried to have a slight sense of humor about the increased traffic on roadways.

Feel like your commute is crawling along? Pack your patience, there's increased traffic volume. #SafeTrack pic.twitter.com/h9pha8gw0r

— ArlingtonCountyPD (@ArlingtonVaPD) June 8, 2016