Vehicular delays at Washington National

Give yourself some extra time if you’re headed to Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) by car, taxicab or ground shuttle. The left lane of the airport entrance road will be closed for a while. That’s the road adjacent to the parking garage, where construction is going on. The lane closest to that garage will be shut down for the duration of a parking expansion job.

“Return to airport” traffic coming from the parking garage exits will be rerouted to a new ramp just beyond the existing ramp. There will be signs to lead the way. What’s really going to delay ground traffic into Reagan Washington National is this: a construction crane set up in the parking garage will temporarily cut the traffic entering the airport to just one lane.

If you’re driving from Washington, D.C. on the southbound George Washington Parkway, use the second airport exit ramp. That will help you bypass garage construction. Better yet, dump the car altogether and hop the Metro. It’s cheap, fast, and convenient.

Reagan Washington National is crying for places flyers can park their cars. A new $54-million parking garage expansion will add a sorely needed 1,424 spaces to the airport. Those spaces should come online by 2010.

© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler