In some circles it is known as the ‘Bloatway’. We’re talking about that section of Interstate 95/495 that encircles our nation’s capital. This highway was either designed by madmen, or deep in the psyche of those designers lurked proto ‘Al Qaeda’ terrorist tendencies. Certainly, since its completion, this highway, in overall magnitude, has killed enough people to be on par with the ‘World Trade Center’ attacks on our Nation. We are forced to conclude that the beltway brings out the worst in driving behavior. ‘Road rage’ can’t begin to describe what we have seen occur in our travels on this stretch of the Interstate system. Yes, we ascribe devious intent to those designers who participated in this project from its inception.
Take the major ongoing ‘improvement’ now taking place in the Springfield, VA area referred to by the media as the ‘mixing bowl’. Here we have the rejoining of the east and west loops and I-395, all converging together to head south. From a design point of view, this plan can only be characterized as ‘voodoo’ or ‘mumbo jumbo’ and so far it’s taken years with additional years to go until completion. We suggest a moniker change, it should be referred to as the ‘mosh pit’ instead of the ‘mixing bowl’. Read the rest of this entry »
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