I need Google Maps on my dashboard.
The traffic report told me that the interstate path I take would be clogged from my onramp to my offramp (specifically, those two exits), and upon approaching it from the Bush turnpike, I saw cars backed up along the half mile or more of a connecting bridge (and the bridge is 2 lanes that merge into one at the bottom, so if you get in line in the left lane that everyone has to merge into, people pass you on the right, and then it takes 400 times as long and is the worst bridge ever, and I wish I could set that entire intersection on fire). Even though I didn't have my DFW map in the car and have a shaky knowledge of the metroplex west of the interstate, I decided to take the Bush turnpike south for a while. This led me to DFW airport, which is halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth and not near my office at all. Whoops.
According to Google Maps, I tacked 10.2 miles onto my commute. But I was driving the speed limit or faster most of the way, so it felt like less far than my regular commute at stop-and-go speeds. And happily, I knew just enough about the major roads to find my way to the office only a half-hour late.
Until I better familiarize myself with the street geography of west Dallas, I'll stick to driving south on one of my suburb's main roads until I hit 635 and take the traffic hit.
According to Google Maps, I tacked 10.2 miles onto my commute. But I was driving the speed limit or faster most of the way, so it felt like less far than my regular commute at stop-and-go speeds. And happily, I knew just enough about the major roads to find my way to the office only a half-hour late.
Until I better familiarize myself with the street geography of west Dallas, I'll stick to driving south on one of my suburb's main roads until I hit 635 and take the traffic hit.