Wisconsin Avenue road work causes some bus delays

Some D.C. residents stood at bus stops along Wisconsin Avenue NW in 38-degree weather Tuesday as some bus lines kept pushing back arrival times.

Samantha Decenord, an Adams Morgan resident, stood at the Wisconsin Ave. and Woodley Road bus stop waiting for bus 33. She said the bus times online rarely coincide with the actual pick-up time.

“The buses have been kind of running weird lately,” Decenord said. “Google Maps will say a certain time, then it’ll come early or really late. I have trouble figuring out the times, so I just go and wait at the stop.”

She said she noticed the road paving on Wisconsin Avenue but did not know it could cause significant delays. She said the 96 line from East to Capitol Heights Station is the most delayed bus she takes.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority issued an alert around 10 a.m. Tuesday for the 96 line.

Jordan Pascale, a media relations manager for WMATA, said traffic along the route is causing significant delays.

The 96 line moves from Tenleytown along Wisconsin Avenue NW to the Capitol Heights Station along E Capitol Street SE.

“Anything that’s going through a high congestion area, usually there’s going to be some traffic along there,” Pascale said. “They usually clear up pretty fast.” 

96 Alert: Traffic delays Route 96 in both directions. Check where your bus is at https://t.co/Wc4Jg6qREB

— Metrobus Info (@Metrobusinfo) December 12, 2023

Decenord said she understands traffic and construction can delay the buses, but she wants more accurate timing online.

Parts of Wisconsin Avenue NW near Cathedral Heights seem easier to pass through for motorists, but strips of the road near Tenleytown are down to one lane on each side. Traffic near the road work on Tuesday morning caused some bus delays. 

Fiona Goe, a student at American University, said she’s seen a lot of bus delays and buses not in service. 

Goe said she waited “for a while” for her bus to campus Tuesday morning. 

“I feel like it’s been 30 minutes,” Goe said. “It’s horrible; it makes me late to school all the time.”

The District Department of Transportation announced in November “temporary lane closure on Wisconsin Avenue NW from Upton Street NW to Warren Street NW, from Monday, November 27, 2023, to Friday, January 5, 2024.”

The DDOT workers paved Wisconsin Avenue NW in parts, with some working on roads near Newark Street NW and others on the ground near Van Ness Street NW.