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Day 9 - The Dreaded Springfield Interchange
Day 9 - The Dreaded Springfield Interchange
MaryO


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Collection: 30 Day Where You Live Jan 2008
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4.0 AT-X Pro DX
Location: Springfield, VA
Date: Jan 9, 2008
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/2000
Galleries: Snapshot, Transportation
Date Uploaded: Jan 9, 2008

Viewed: 774
Comments: 18
Favorites: 0

 Anyone who has driven up and down the East Coast of the US has probably driven interstate 95 through Virginia and passed through the Springfield interchange, a.k.a. the Mixing Bowl. I'm painfully aware that it can take anywhere from a couple of minutes to a couple of hours to get through it!

It's where I95, I495 (the circuitous route around Washington, DC, which is coincident with I95 on the eastern side just to confuse everyone), I395 (goes straight from Springfield, where I95-north turns right and joins I495-eastish, into DC where it kinda' sorta' connects to I295 but only southbound, not to be confused with DC 295 which goes north and can be reached from I395 only if you know where the connections are), and local roads (we're back in Springfield now) all converge and cross every which way. The road right in front of you, BTW, is a local one, VA Route 644, known as Old Keene Mill Road on this side of the interchange and as Franconia Road on the other side. Don't ask me why; we just like to change road names and/or numbers randomly to confuse the tourists.

The interchange has been under reconstruction for something like 10 years now and the number of ramps and flyovers crisscrossing each other now is stupendous. Traffic seems to flow a little better but rush hour is still backed up faithfully twice a day (this shot was taken in midafternoon when traffic is lighter). Unfortunately I can only see a piece of it from the bridge in "downtown Springfield" (which exists only in the mind of the Chamber of Commerce). Wish I owned a helicopter; that would be perfect! Next best thing is the satellite view from Google maps.

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AuthorThread
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 01/22/2008 09:54:27 PM
a few hours to get through?! yikes!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-40D
Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon
 01/12/2008 02:52:31 PM
hahaha and I thought we had problems with the road signs!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus E-510
Olympus 50mm f/2.0 Macro ED Zuiko Digital
 01/11/2008 03:32:29 AM
Nice colors and good focus on the mixing bowl.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 II
 01/10/2008 07:08:24 PM
Good job leaving so much of the sky in the shot it brings out the swoop of the bridge nicely
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-600D/T3i Rebel
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM II
 01/10/2008 04:53:07 PM
Great photo - love the sweeping line of the road.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
SiPix Blink
 01/10/2008 01:31:16 PM
I love the use of negative space in this photograph.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D
Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
 01/10/2008 01:05:49 PM
Have not been that way always stay on the coast and when ever i think of VA. IT's the GREAT BRidge !! Nice portrayal ..
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM II
01/10/2008 12:29:22 PM
couldnt resist looking at the satelite view, wow thats just nasty, thanks for the tour and great pic :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/10/2008 09:40:11 AM
Sounds confusing to me, glad I didn't drive that way when I was down there in August. Good photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Sigma 28-135mm f/3.8-5.6 Aspherical IF for Canon
 01/10/2008 01:17:39 AM
Oh wow, thanks for the link, seeing it from above really lets you know just how confusing it could be.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-60D
Sigma 70-200 /2.8 APO EX DG Macro HSM II
01/09/2008 11:21:38 PM
It does give a non resident an idea of what to expect. Exposure is good
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon Z9
Nikon NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S
 01/09/2008 11:08:26 PM
ummm, thees a reason i live in maine.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D
Tamron AF 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC LD Aspherical(IF)Macro
 01/09/2008 10:29:58 PM
nope, we got nuthin' like this heer in the sticks of VT...
you must have pulled over, or shot this from your car, no traffic to sit & be bored in at this hour eh? :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D Mark II
Canon EF 24-70mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens
 01/09/2008 10:21:24 PM
Looks fine to me, but then I come from the town that is so anti-freeway that for twenty years we had the only stoplights on US101 between the Mexican and Canadian borders.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 01/09/2008 09:46:46 PM
Looks like some of the highways in California!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7100
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 01/09/2008 09:44:53 PM
Changing names of streets to confuse tourists?! Thanks for sharing the information. So confusing. Have you ever been to Los Angeles? The rush hour traffic is from 6 am to 10 pm. Everyday, on every freeway. I had to move out of there and up to the Central Coast where we have no traffic!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7100
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6G
 01/09/2008 08:32:40 PM
nice shot To big for me
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Apple iPhone 5
 01/09/2008 07:26:34 PM
I was not aware you live in Springfield VA. Very small world, I moved to Phoenix 3 years ago from Woodbridge VA. I have been through the mixing bowl so many times I still have nightmares about it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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