Winter Wonderland
Yesterday the Pittsburgh region got its first snowfall of the season.
Yesterday it took me four hours to get home.
It normally takes me a little under an hour.
We didn't get a lot of snow, but parts of the roads were on the icy side. So therein lies the problem. Here's the rundown on my night going from work on the North Side to home in Washington. Those from the Pittsburgh area may recognize the landmarks and exits I use, but for those of you who aren't from around here, just know that it shouldn't take this long!
I left work on the North Side at 5 p.m. Fourty-five minutes into my ride, I was still sitting on the ramp to the Fort Duquesne Bridge. Two buses with police escorts were going the opposite way at a decent speed, bypassing the traffic. There was a Steelers game last night and Heinz Field is on the North Side, so I figure it may have been part of the Browns entourage. No fair. I wanted a police escort at that moment. At 6 p.m I finally made it onto the Fort Duquesne Bridge.
The best part of the trip was the second hour. Once I made it through the Fort Pitt Tunnels, the traffic on the Parkway was slow, but not crazy slow. Once I got onto 79 south, there was no traffic at all...until I hit around the Kirwin Heights exit. Full stop. Just past the exit I hit 7 p.m.
At this point, I call my husband, who is on a business trip to Washington, DC. I ask him to make a note of the time. "Guess where I am?" I ask him. He thinks I've gone shopping or something because he hadn't reached me at home. "No, I'm still on my way home from work. I haven't even reached Bridgeville yet." He is incredulous. I tell him it snowed. He then tells me to be careful, to which I tell him it's pretty hard not to be careful when you're going less than 5 miles per hour. After getting off the phone with him, I'm approaching the Bridgeville exit. I contemplate getting off there and going the back way home, but then I think better of it. If the highway is this bad, then the back roads can't be good. I stick to 79.
By 8 p.m. I've made it to the rest area just past Bridgeville. It's taken me an hour to get somewhere that would have only taken five minutes. I stop at the rest area. I've been on the road for three hours by now...I really had to pee. I called my husband, "I've finally made it to the rest area!!!" He couldn't believe it, "You've got to be kidding me? Is it that bad?" I don't believe it's that bad, but there must be something ahead that's causing the traffic. The only thing I can figure is that it's a bit icy at the Southpointe exit. It sits on top of a hill and snow drifts onto the road. It always is a bit icier than other areas of the highway.
Back on the road, it seems as though I was right. Soon after Southpointe, the traffic speeds up. I'm in Washington by 9 p.m.
Happy Winter Everyone!
Yesterday it took me four hours to get home.
It normally takes me a little under an hour.
We didn't get a lot of snow, but parts of the roads were on the icy side. So therein lies the problem. Here's the rundown on my night going from work on the North Side to home in Washington. Those from the Pittsburgh area may recognize the landmarks and exits I use, but for those of you who aren't from around here, just know that it shouldn't take this long!
I left work on the North Side at 5 p.m. Fourty-five minutes into my ride, I was still sitting on the ramp to the Fort Duquesne Bridge. Two buses with police escorts were going the opposite way at a decent speed, bypassing the traffic. There was a Steelers game last night and Heinz Field is on the North Side, so I figure it may have been part of the Browns entourage. No fair. I wanted a police escort at that moment. At 6 p.m I finally made it onto the Fort Duquesne Bridge.
The best part of the trip was the second hour. Once I made it through the Fort Pitt Tunnels, the traffic on the Parkway was slow, but not crazy slow. Once I got onto 79 south, there was no traffic at all...until I hit around the Kirwin Heights exit. Full stop. Just past the exit I hit 7 p.m.
At this point, I call my husband, who is on a business trip to Washington, DC. I ask him to make a note of the time. "Guess where I am?" I ask him. He thinks I've gone shopping or something because he hadn't reached me at home. "No, I'm still on my way home from work. I haven't even reached Bridgeville yet." He is incredulous. I tell him it snowed. He then tells me to be careful, to which I tell him it's pretty hard not to be careful when you're going less than 5 miles per hour. After getting off the phone with him, I'm approaching the Bridgeville exit. I contemplate getting off there and going the back way home, but then I think better of it. If the highway is this bad, then the back roads can't be good. I stick to 79.
By 8 p.m. I've made it to the rest area just past Bridgeville. It's taken me an hour to get somewhere that would have only taken five minutes. I stop at the rest area. I've been on the road for three hours by now...I really had to pee. I called my husband, "I've finally made it to the rest area!!!" He couldn't believe it, "You've got to be kidding me? Is it that bad?" I don't believe it's that bad, but there must be something ahead that's causing the traffic. The only thing I can figure is that it's a bit icy at the Southpointe exit. It sits on top of a hill and snow drifts onto the road. It always is a bit icier than other areas of the highway.
Back on the road, it seems as though I was right. Soon after Southpointe, the traffic speeds up. I'm in Washington by 9 p.m.
Happy Winter Everyone!
posted by Beth @ 8:49 AM
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