495 traffic

[Anonymous]

American Legion Bridge delay is all on Virginia. VA claims since techincally Marylands owns the Potomac river that Maryland should pay whole cost of bridge.

However, VA uses the bridge 50 percent. In NYC they have something called Port Authority that manages all the bridges from NYC to NJ and repairs rebuilding split 50/50 as obvious to all regardless of who owns water and up to what point the bridge or tunnel to and from NYC to NJ is used 50/50.

VA also suggested Maryland just hire private company and slap tolls on Bridge and widening on Maryland side. However, Wes Moore and Larry Hogan know a lot of nurses, cops, fireman, blue collar workers, trades people, clerical people and people who work at Mall and Retail cross bridge every day. They cant afford that and Maryland has high income taxes and gas taxes already so putting a toll on a road we already pay for out of taxes is crazy. I take the bridge 4-6 times a week to work and it is always just as crowded in both directions. Thinking one state should pay for it 100 percent when both states equally use it is crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To give a real answer, they are extending the toll lanes to near the bridge. They were hoping that Maryland would similarly expand the bridge and 495 on that side, but that doesn't appear to be happening. So, the end result will still be gridlock at the bridge on the Inner Loop, but you can cut the line if you pay.

What makes them think MD would do this? I thought this idea was rejected many times over by Bethesda residents. So VA is just going to spend $$$ to make traffic worse in hopes that it will pressure MD into action?

And why wouldnt they? There are mainly 1.2 million to two million dollar homes on that stretch. No one is offering to buy people out at full market value and pay their moving costs. You need all the houses on both sides up to highway to really expand it. And there is a housing shortage in close in MoCo so you are taking out a lot of houses and not replacing them. Plus there are some brand new developments like Amalyn right on 270s Spur just built and nearly all homes brand new built and sold during Covid housing bubble from 2020 to 2025. That is a ton of very expensive single family homes right next to 270 spur. Who is buying that are putting highway right next to peoples brand new two million dollar homes they just bought 2-3 years earlier.

If they wanted to expand they should have stop issuing building permits within 500 feet of beltway like 25 years ago

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To give a real answer, they are extending the toll lanes to near the bridge. They were hoping that Maryland would similarly expand the bridge and 495 on that side, but that doesn't appear to be happening. So, the end result will still be gridlock at the bridge on the Inner Loop, but you can cut the line if you pay.

What makes them think MD would do this? I thought this idea was rejected many times over by Bethesda residents. So VA is just going to spend $$$ to make traffic worse in hopes that it will pressure MD into action?

Maryland state highway folks in recent years have sometimes talked about expanding the bridge and adding HOV lanes from bridge at least to the 270 split.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To give a real answer, they are extending the toll lanes to near the bridge. They were hoping that Maryland would similarly expand the bridge and 495 on that side, but that doesn't appear to be happening. So, the end result will still be gridlock at the bridge on the Inner Loop, but you can cut the line if you pay.

What makes them think MD would do this? I thought this idea was rejected many times over by Bethesda residents. So VA is just going to spend $$$ to make traffic worse in hopes that it will pressure MD into action?

MD agreed when Hogan was Governor. And then Moore pulled out.

[Anonymous]

Maryland needs to start playing ball on road improvement in general. We desperately need another crossing over the Potomac and 270 is a joke. The Beltway in Maryland is like driving through a war zone.

Virginia is adding miles of nw roads while Maryland is sticking its head in the ground.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To give a real answer, they are extending the toll lanes to near the bridge. They were hoping that Maryland would similarly expand the bridge and 495 on that side, but that doesn't appear to be happening. So, the end result will still be gridlock at the bridge on the Inner Loop, but you can cut the line if you pay.

What makes them think MD would do this? I thought this idea was rejected many times over by Bethesda residents. So VA is just going to spend $$$ to make traffic worse in hopes that it will pressure MD into action?

MD agreed when Hogan was Governor. And then Moore pulled out.

citation needed

[Anonymous]

I think it's already getting better. Today, leaving at 7 AM, I made it from my home in Sterling, VA to my office in Bethesda in under 30 minutes, using the toll road to 495N to Clara Barton Pkwy. The toll road to 495N is usually pretty backed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's already getting better. Today, leaving at 7 AM, I made it from my home in Sterling, VA to my office in Bethesda in under 30 minutes, using the toll road to 495N to Clara Barton Pkwy. The toll road to 495N is usually pretty backed up.

Probably because the government is shut down. Many of us federal workers go between MD and VA daily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To give a real answer, they are extending the toll lanes to near the bridge. They were hoping that Maryland would similarly expand the bridge and 495 on that side, but that doesn't appear to be happening. So, the end result will still be gridlock at the bridge on the Inner Loop, but you can cut the line if you pay.

What makes them think MD would do this? I thought this idea was rejected many times over by Bethesda residents. So VA is just going to spend $$$ to make traffic worse in hopes that it will pressure MD into action?

MD agreed when Hogan was Governor. And then Moore pulled out.

citation needed

DP. There was extensive news coverage at the time. Did you recently arrive in metro DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To give a real answer, they are extending the toll lanes to near the bridge. They were hoping that Maryland would similarly expand the bridge and 495 on that side, but that doesn't appear to be happening. So, the end result will still be gridlock at the bridge on the Inner Loop, but you can cut the line if you pay.

What makes them think MD would do this? I thought this idea was rejected many times over by Bethesda residents. So VA is just going to spend $$$ to make traffic worse in hopes that it will pressure MD into action?

MD agreed when Hogan was Governor. And then Moore pulled out.

citation needed

Google Capital Beltway Accord. One of the results will be Hogan’s triumphant Facebook post. Here is another story from the Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/maryland-and-virginia-to-rebuild-and-widen-the-american-legion-bridge-governors-say/2019/11/12/6531d8fe-04c9-11ea-ac12-3325d49eacaa_story.html

[Anonymous]

It’s a nightmare. The last several days has been 1.5 hours from Braddock road to cross into Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maryland needs to start playing ball on road improvement in general. We desperately need another crossing over the Potomac and 270 is a joke. The Beltway in Maryland is like driving through a war zone.

Virginia is adding miles of nw roads while Maryland is sticking its head in the ground.

MD built infrastructure as it went over many, many decades.

VA built a gazillion houses and neighborhoods in the last 30-50y but infrastructure was a complete afterthought.

And here we are. Playing catch up in VA.

MD has its problems too but the constant, decades long projects in VA are the result of doing nothing for many years while the population surged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To give a real answer, they are extending the toll lanes to near the bridge. They were hoping that Maryland would similarly expand the bridge and 495 on that side, but that doesn't appear to be happening. So, the end result will still be gridlock at the bridge on the Inner Loop, but you can cut the line if you pay.

This. VA is being proactive with its road building and maintenance. It is accommodating the demand for traffic in that area, much of which is rush hour traffic from VA back into MD. For decades, MD has been planning to expand the American Legion Bridge, but it has never been done. So you have an efficient Republican Commonwealth building to accommodate traffic to a Democratic state that can never get its act together to widen the bridge. WAPo has done many pieces on this. There are also wiki pieces.

[Anonymous]

Yes, ^^. see this Wapo piece. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/09/03/md-plans-delay-bridge-expansion-electric-buses-13-billion-cuts/

[Anonymous]

The construction company doing the work is horrible.