America’s Capital was crippled yesterday. Roads were nearly shut down, and millions were stranded on the road for hours.
Was this because of a terror attack? A massive earthquake? A blizzard?
No, it was all from 1 inch of snow.
On Wednesday night, Washington, D.C. area commuters suffered one of the worst commutes in recent memory: more than 170 accidents, leaving many commuters stranded until 3 a.m.
‘It took him an hour to get 4 miles.’ DC gets a preview as icy snow snarls traffic. @CNN‘s @Rene_MarshCNN reports: https://t.co/4PxknXokqg
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) January 21, 2016
This semi-disaster needs to be a wake-up call to Congress and the region’s leaders: If an inch of snow can cripple the capital, what happens if there were to be a terror attack?
Even if it were a small attack, the road network simply isn’t build to safely get commuters and residents out of the city. As most D.C.-area residents know — even on a normal day — our congestion is the worst in the nation.
Sure, that stinks for people who live here, but it also poses a bigger problem: It leaves our Capital more vulnerable to terror attacks and chaos.
If ISIS and other terrorists see the traffic chaos 1 inch of snow can bring, their imaginations could run wild. D.C.’s leadership, including Congress, needs to address the road failures and commuter routes in the capital region. Some of the solutions are basic (and have been known for decades): Build another bridge over the Potomac River outside the beltway, expand I-66 inside the beltway, and fix the Metro system.
How many more traffic failures do we have to experience until our government gets the memo?
