[tanknetter]

I remember years ago, some black activists charged that freeways from suburbs into cities were “white men’s roads through black men’s homes”, as they opposed interstate highways being built in some cities.

The National Building Museum, in Washington, DC (in the old Pension Building off Judiciary Square Metro), has an exhibit on DC that covers (including with pictures and pamphlets) how that slogan and campaign effectively stopped the MD-DC spoke of 395. Which now terminates at NY Ave.

[La Lydia]

And that, in a nutshell, is why this place is such a nightmare to drive in, and why everyone in Northern VA, DC and Maryland, including the poor minorities, is constantly bitching about traffic. There is no north-south route, and don’t say 295 or I will scream. The 295-Route 50 region has been, to my personal knowledge, under construction since 1994. Ever try going from Alexandria to Burtonsville? You nearly can’t get there from here. Ditto coming south on 295 where THEY NEGLECTED TO BUILD A WESTBOUND EXIT onto 395. You definitely can’t get there from here. They should have driven a 12-lane right up 14th Street to the Beltway, and the hell with the complaints. But ooohhhhno. That would have been racist. Sorry for the rant but you struck my remaining nerve.