Looking for the best truck route into Washington DC

I've only penetrated the diamond a handfull of times, all of them an 08-09am delivery.

"Just follow the GPS" is about it. You're screwed and not going anywhere anytime soon. Slow motion zone.

 

Avoid ALL of the parkways (George Washington, Rock Creek, Suitland, Piney Branch, etc) as they are no truck zones. Also, 395 -North Capitol Hill only has 13'0 Clearance

 

A few blocks from the white house? Are you serious? Blocks down that way are about a mile long. And roughly 5 square miles of that core is a National Security Zone.

Without knowing exactly what address you are delivering to, assuming you are running from PA south to penetrate the Diamond to deliver President Donald's Burgers... I'll offer this route.

Truck and Bus Through Routes and Restrictions | ddot

PDF restrictions against trucks in place DC specifically. What this is a pretty picture in crayon where you WILL NOT take a 18 wheeler. Red is bad, blue is good.

https://ddot.dc.gov/sites/default/f...ts/TruckandBusThroughRouteandRestrictions.pdf

I-495 Forest Glen interchange, State 97 south, penetrate the Diamond that way. It is known as generally Georgia Ave or US 29 south.

Another potential penetration would be 16th street, but I would check it out very carefully first.

Without knowing exactly where you are delivering to downtown in that DC Core with all that concentration of Federal Power and so forth, there is no point in babbling on about things any further.

You will probably discover that things are not going well in DC overall once you penetrate the diamond. You have to absolutely be #### careful not to put a wheel, trailer or any part of your rig somewhere where it don't belong. In the past Ive gone downtown with a 18 wheeler without so much defensive survillence as now present since 9-11. But it's no longer funny or possible to just waltz downtown with a big truck without several layers of our Fine Government eyeballing you as a potential truck bomb on the way to attack the white house.

For your sake, I hope to god your bills are accurate with the correct delivery address and the freight on your rig matches same. You will be well advised to have everything perfect and in order on your end. You cannot have any kind of paperwork, ELD violations or any kind of screw up in DC like you normally would get away with in brush town hollow PA somewhere.

 

Yea...dc sucks an is a tad weird.. You can't BUY pot, but you can trade it or give it away. They legalized an that's what they came up with. Then again it's the same city that reelected a mayor caught smoking crack with a hooker. Open air drug markets, next to schools,...been there 30+years. Me think someone is making some nice money on the side.

I lived there for a good number of my years. I don't envy you. Takes a special kind of person to deal with DC idiocy an traffic, especially in a big rig. I'm not that person. lol. Hopefully you get a way in an out fast, an don't find out firsthand all the crazy ### streets dc has. Lots of one ways, an the like.

Watch out for the loony toon's all around the White House area. Some are amusing, others....eh...you just have to see it with your own eyes. Was up there a few years back. Sis in law works up that way, got us into the WH for the Christmas tour/open house they do. I think the weirdos outside were far more entertaining than the ones inside.

DC...home of politicians, an politics. Lots of Lawyers, an Politicians. Triple chain, as the amount of ######## you'll experience is easily waist high.

Oh an go try Ben's Chili Bowl. Or a half smoke from one of the trucks. Ben's has been a popular stop for a verrrrry long time. From Hollywood stars, Professional sports, Politicians, to the average joe frequent the place. Edit - Being in a big rig you likely won't fit, but eh...I'd be remiss if I didn't suggest it. It's a spot one should visit.

About the only thing I miss about DC is the National Mall, the museums, an the various monuments. WW2 one and the Vietnam wall are my favorites, an have to visit them when I come back home.

Err...sorry, post kinda turned into a travel novel.

Sirscrapntruckalot - The ##### set me up! - Marion Barry, an yes there really were tshirts made an sold with that on them.

 

DC to me means the museums, there is the Transport one that holds a Southern Railroad PS-4 Pacific steam engine I would not mind visiting again. I still posess the original vynal records of it at work near Front Royal with 1200 ton of passenger heavy weight shorly before being rebuilt and shipped (Some of it on it's own tracks) to that particular museum. And of course the Air and Space among other things.

One other spot, the Museum of Natural History has a sort of insect zoo I think on the third floor in a wing. Many times I see that the guides and staff are talking to the hearing about these bugs (A three inch ####roach hissing in the palm of your hand... it's not for everyone)

and I find there is a group of deaf in a corner that has been on the bus since say Minnesota but are not getting the information due to no inter-perter. So I'll step up and introduce myself and they introduce themselves and after all that is sorted (Particular its a living language, there are regional differences that needs to be resolved between the east coast and Minnesota) once we got all that out of the way I'll transfer the spoken English into a form of basic sign language anyone can understand that is taught in the Galludet Model which happens to be near Galludet University up the road in DC. (Aka MSSD ETC)

It becomes clear that doing that work converting what they cannot hear into something they can now follow as a spider prepares to take a rat for it's meal etc. It really opens them up as a people. They become participants. I get paid zip. That's not what I am there for. I just happened to notice that there is a batch of deaf who have no one to convert languages to them. So that's what I do from time to time. It's really rough versus a professional but who cares. They enjoyed it very much.

There is a fine seafood joint called Phillips in SW among other places to go in that general area. If the staff is having a good day you are going to visit a treat of Midatlantic seafood properly done. (And there is ham for you non seafood people. No one goes hungry he he)

What shames me is that the Subways are visibly rotting. I can run my eye over the rail, switches, ballast, electrical rail and associated equiptment and the rail cars etc and tell that things are not as well as they really ought to be. SUrely the capital of the greatest Nation known to world hsitory in the free world would have nothing but the finest in Subway etc... but you would not be surprised as to how it's all hollowed out and rusted out with corrosive corruption and outright failure of several layers of participating Governments to maintain the system.

I hate to say this. I have a love and hate relationship with DC. By the same token, Im glad I am 1200 miles away so that if something did happen to them, poor things... we will be in a position possibly to make it better once the clean up and tools are put away.

 

Yup. It's the National History Museum with the bug walk as I call it. Now they do a butterfly thing. Walk through it as they fly around, etc etc. 4th of July on the Mall is something I recommend everyone tries to see at lest once. While something like 700k to 900k folks go each year it's not as packed as one would think. If your by the Capital building, or the Lincoln Memorial, yea your going to be a sardine. I always end up in the middle somewhere near the Washington Monument.

err an sorry OP. Derailed your thread.

Sirscrapntruckalot - Video Game Crack = Jeopardy world tour. .

 

Awww come on its not that bad. Your scaring the #### out of me. And I'm in and out of dc all the time.

 

It's ok. I started bypassing the entire area on either 15 or 301. It eliminated much of the problems in life back then for me. Traffic for one. I believe there is no where in the USA as aggressive as DC. Im just happy to be done with it.

Ive been thinking a little bit. There is a US Mint down there. And we took a tour once as children. They would probably receive material from the PA area to which here in the South certain Cottons and other materials are shipped to which eventually becomes paper money by the pallet. Been through the white house too back when it was much more welcoming to children. Now adays you are lucky to get a block from there according to a relative who visits regularly for a variety of reasons.