Drivers Are Learning To Deal With Rough Commute On JFX

BALTIMORE (WJZ)— Another evening rush hour is underway with one lane closed on the JFX.

Derek Valcourt has more on the solutions drivers are finding to deal with the traffic.

Thanks to carpooling, mass transit and alternate routes, drivers are dealing with the delays better than city officials expected.

Tuesday morning rush hour traffic along the Jones Falls Expressway moved faster than it did on Monday, and there were fewer vehicles on the JFX.

Transportation officials know that because they're monitoring conditions from their operations center downtown, keeping a close eye on what they say was a major improvement over Monday morning rush hour.

City officials attribute that improvement to more people using one of the nine suggested alternate routes.

Some of the folks who work downtown are choosing the MTA system as their best bet for avoiding the JFX. In fact, though early numbers are not in yet, MTA officials say they fully expect to see an increase in ridership while the work on the JFX continues.

"Fortunately, I work in Owings Mills, so days I don't have to have my car, I'm going to take the subway," said Brian Brown.

But the delays aren't over. The left lane both north and southbound will stay closed over the next six to eight weeks while the city repairs crushed underground pipes they fear could create a dangerous sinkhole in the highway.

City officials insist the smoothness of rush hour all depends on drivers.

"All it takes is one accident and it will delay and cause bottle-necking throughout that whole intersection, so we want people to be courteous to one another," said Adrienne Barnes, Baltimore Department of Transportation.

The city has mapped out nine alternate driving routes for people coming in from the north. Click here for routes around the JFX.