Navigating the D.C. Mixing Bowl

Posted on June 25, 2007 by Melissa Worden

I lived and worked in Washington, D.C., for 8 years and am all-too familiar with the nightmare traffic congestion that happens on the Beltway (I-495) — particularly where it meets I-395 (a major East Coast north-south artery that passes through the city). They call this tangle of roads the “Mixing Bowl.”

The Washington Post today wrote a story about the confusion and frustration drivers still experience, even though the reconstruction of the road pattern is complete:

“After eight years and $676 million, all of the swirling ramps and bridges are open at the Springfield interchange, and traffic is flowing freely through one of the busiest crossroads on the East Coast, where interstates 95 and 395 hit the Capital Beltway.

But there is growing concern that navigating the new Mixing Bowl’s 50 ramps and 24 lanes is confusing and could be creating different safety problems.”

Add-ons to this story include a 2-D graphic and a video that takes you on a ride through.

Both are a disappointment. Here’s why:

1.) The audio is horrible, and the video doesn’t work either — they’re putting me in the driver’s seat, but I can’t read most of the street signs.

2.) A 2-D graphic? Sigh. If you’re going to do this, at least give me a link back to the story.

3.) Why not combine the two? The video starts with a map, but it fails to fully illustrate where the narrator is while he’s describing the traffic. I have driven those roads, so I can visualize where he’s at as he describes the route, but I think someone who’s never been there might get confused. (And come on, this is made for those who haven’t driven the roads. The Mixing Bowl has been under construction for 8 years — Washingtonians know how crazy the maze is.)

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Tags: video, multimedia samples

Comments

One Response to “Navigating the D.C. Mixing Bowl”

  1. Beau Dure on June 26th, 2007 9:38 am

    Technically, the Mixing Bowl is a different intersection: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_road_network

    But it’s changing over time: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield_Interchange

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