Area commutes can be a breeze

Commuting can be chaos or a cool breeze.
“I live just 15 minutes away,” said Al Bonner, a realtor who works at an office in Gainesville and lives in Haymarket. His wife has a longer way to go. She works at Bailey’s Crossroads and generally drives to work three days a week to her information technology job. She also has the option to telework.
Bonner used to have a longer commute. “I used to work in McLean and I would leave at 6 a.m. and it would take me 45 minutes,” he recalled.
Ron Cateo is also blessed to have a short commute. He works as a senior framing adviser for a construction engineering firm in Gainesville and lives in Virginia Oaks, just a short drive along U.S. 29. Though the traffic on 29 can be no picnic, Cateo said he gets to work in about five minutes, generally, if he’s driving from home. But in the morning, he said, “I leave the house at 8 a.m. and drop the kids off in Haymarket. I can be here by 8:15 but the traffic can be backed up on Gallaher Road and it can take up to 20 minutes, not counting the train” if he has to stop at the rail crossing, he said.
Bethany Keplinger lives in Haymarket and commutes to her job as a systems analyst in Dumfries. She said it takes her 45 minutes to get the office and she leaves at 7:30 a.m.
“I take 66 to the 234 bypass to 95,” she said in explaining her route. It’s an easier commute than what she had. “I used to work in Reston and that was a lot different. It’s pretty easy now. It’s a breeze compared to Reston,” she said.
Scott Jacobs lives in Nokesville and he lives 1.5 miles from his realty office. “I’ve lived here for 30 years and I’ve seen the whole area change,” he said. He takes a positive view of those changes, noting “it’s nice that we have these amenities” such as places to shop and entertainment.

—Read the full story in the June 3 issue of the Bull Run Observer.