Snowbound residents eager to return to work Friday were greeted with packed Metro cars and gridlocked highways in what AAA Mid-Atlantic dubbed a “commute from hell.”
To add insult to injury, a Metro car derailed at Farragut North Station, leaving three people with minor injuries and temporarily shutting down the Red Linebetween Farragut and Dupont Circle.
“It was probably one of the worst commute in the Washington area since 9/11,” said AAA spokesman John Townsend.
Hundreds of miles of roads remained unplowed or underplowed as people tried to make the trek to the office. Workers commuting for the first time in a week found major routes shrunk to one or two lanes, with slush-filled intersections and huge snowbanks lining the roads.
And with Metro not back to full service, hundreds of regular transit riders drove instead, adding to the number of vehicles stuck in hours-long commutes.
“Obviously we’re a week after the storm,” said Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay. “To me it’s completely unacceptable that period of time can go by without a street being plowed.”
– David Sherfinski
Examiner Staff Writers William C. Flook and Freeman Klopott contributed to this report.
