Without Transit, Wilson Bridge Comes Up Short

By Robert Thomson
Sunday, May 11, 2008

D ear Dr. Gridlock:

I am a Metro commuter from Alexandria (Eisenhower Avenue) to the Census Bureau (Suitland Station) and was wondering if there will be a bus alternative across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge once the second new span is complete?

Do you know the latest information about possibly having a Metrorail component to the new bridge?

Bernard L. Bundy Jr.

Alexandria

The idea of putting Metrorail across the bridge, considered a realistic option just a few years ago, now looks more like a forlorn hope.

The transit authority, no longer capable of building a rail line, is struggling to maintain the system. Any new rail construction, such as the Dulles link, must be done by the interested jurisdictions.

It's possible that the new NH-1 Metrobus route, which links National Harbor in Prince George's County with the District, could be extended across the bridge to Alexandria, but as of now, Metro has no bus service changes scheduled.

We haven't had much luck with express bus service across the Potomac, but we ought to keep trying until the right formula is found.

The new Wilson Bridge was designed with transit in mind. The inner two lanes could be used by express buses, light rail or Metrorail. We need an action plan for transit and the money to finance it, but as yet we have neither.

When all the new lanes of the bridge become available at the end of the ear, those two lanes will serve as really wide shoulders.

The new bridge is a magnificent -- and expensive -- achievement. Let's get the most out of it by completing the transit link.

Bridge Opening

A dedication ceremony marking the completion of the bridge's second span is scheduled from 11 a.m. to noon Thursday. Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), who played an important role in getting this thing done, will have the honor of tightening the last bolt.

The ceremony won't mean much to drivers -- unless they get stuck in rubbernecking delays on the already-opened span. Traffic won't cross the new span until the end of the month. The plan calls for shifting the inner loop onto the new crossing during the weekend of May 30-June 1. Outer-loop traffic will continue to use the span that opened in 2006.

As of next month, drivers will be traveling on what ultimately will be the bridge's six local lanes. They'll be watching as crews work behind barriers on what will become the four express lanes, which are scheduled to open this fall.

But even by June, the opening of the second span and the realignment of the Beltway lanes should be producing benefits. Some of the roadway bends that slow travel will be gone. And drivers heading south on Interstate 295 onto the inner loop should have an easier merge.

Parking Regulations

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

I have noticed recently that several streets near the Columbia Heights Metro station have new residential parking signs, limiting parking during certain daytime hours exclusively to zone permit holders.

They used to allow visitors two hours, as in other neighborhoods. Is this unique to that area, or is it a trend that will spread? Where are visitors to the neighborhood supposed to park?

Don Zuckerman

Takoma, D.C.

Many D.C. residents welcome the revival of their neighborhoods but don't want to be crowded off their streets. The District government is trying to keep everyone relatively happy through new parking policies.

We see evidence of that on the streets near the new baseball stadium on the Anacostia waterfront, the new convention center in Mount Vernon Square and the new retail development in Columbia Heights. If it works in these areas, it could be expanded.

In Columbia Heights, the residential street restrictions are designed to move shoppers toward garages or the meters on commercial streets. But there's some flexibility: The "zone 1 permit holders only" restriction applies to the north side of the east-west streets between Monroe and Harvard streets, says Karyn LeBlanc, spokeswoman for the District Department of Transportation.

Visitors still can park for two hours on the south side of most east-west streets and on any north-south residential street between 11th and 16th streets NW. For extended stays, D.C. police have visitor parking permits.

Is this parking policy working?

Dr. Gridlock appears Thursday in the Extras and Sunday in the Metro section. You can send e-mails todrgridlock@washpost.com. Include your name, home community and phone numbers. Some letters are published.

Get There:http://blog.washingtonpost.com/getthere.