BRAC to cause more congested commutes
Video by Whitney Shefte/Post
Catherine Voorhees, a work-at-home patent attorney in Alexandria, Va., drives her children 17 miles to gymnastics practice in Woodbridge, Va., at least four times per week. The commute sometimes takes over an hour each way.
She's one of thousands of local residents likely to be impacted as plan to move more than 19,000 defense workers to far-flung sites along Interstate 95 in Northern Virginia by fall 2011 are expected to add thousands of car commuters to the region's road network, further clogging an area with the nation's second-worst traffic.
As The Post's Miranda S. Spivack reported on Sunday, state and local officials aren't certain they can do enough to widen roads, build exit ramps and make other fixes by the deadline mandated by the 2005 federal base realignment and closings plan. Making matters worse, many workers will move from public transit even as regional policymakers push for job growth near transit lines.
The Base Realignment and Closure Commission job shifts stem from post-9/11 worries by federal officials that the cluster of defense operations near the Pentagon and Reagan National Airport are at risk of attack, threatening national security.
Read Miranda's story, watch the video above and let us know -- how will your commute be impacted by these changes, if at all?
By
Ed O'Keefe
| May 10, 2010; 9:30 AM ET
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Posted by: lquarton | May 11, 2010 1:59 AM | Report abuse
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IF the military would shut down bases around the world that only continue to exist because they prop up the local economy of an ally there would be plenty of money for road-widening in Virginia.
For instance, Germany's economy is doing fine; stop spending our tax money and military personnel there. Yes I understand the military medical facilities there are important, but a decision needs to be made on whether the medical facilities are vital and if so, they can be maintained, but without the enormous number of troops and large, expensive bases.