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Danger at Quantico Date published: 8/16/2010
On my way to my job in Washington on Aug. 11, I passed a half-mile's worth of cars idling on the shoulder of Interstate 95 waiting to exit at mile markers 148 and 153 for Marine Corps Base Quantico. My wife works on the base, and she pulls off onto the shoulder each morning, as well. I pray that cars driving to points north pay attention and don't slam into her at 65 mph while she idles there like a sitting duck. It's not if but when that's going to happen to someone. The shoulder of a major highway is a dangerous place. The thought of the Marine Corps' inadequate infrastructure putting my wife in danger enrages me. This got me to thinking back to an article published in The Free Lance-Star on April 11 ["Quantico takes aim at easing congestion"]. It talks about the Marine Corps' efforts to encourage people to use van pools, VRE, or other ride-sharing arrangements. All of these require adjustments by the employee. What was missing from the article was any mention of adjustments There was no mention of stepping up efforts to increase teleworking, despite the fact that the Federal Times reported in 2009 that 102,900 government employees telework and that OPM continues to push for an increase in numbers. There was no mention of encouraging managers to stagger employee schedules to spread out the gate traffic, and no mention of increasing the number of lanes on base. The only Marine Corps adjustment mentioned was the recent road construction. Not only are these road improvements years overdue and will fail to improve traffic throughout at the gates, they are now possible only because BRAC money, not Marine Corps money, is being used. If it were not for BRAC, this construction would be unfunded. The situation each morning is unacceptable, and I see no efforts being made to improve upon it. Rob Davis Stafford
and future problems caused by the local base expansions could be resolved if BRAC would have looked at other parts of the country to move operations. There are many economically stressed areas around military bases in the US that could use some money brought in by personnel. All govn't agencies/DOD don't have to be in the DC area. The DC metro area would survive very well minus about 1/3 of the people,traffic and govn't money. Many people moved here for Gov't jobs, they could/would move again.
just waving traffic in like normal. The only difference I saw was who was at the gates. Coming off 95 and onto the back gate there were two lanes open. The cars coming from route one had a marine in cammies. The cars coming from 95 had a security person that normally rides their bikes around the base. He was looking at registration, safety and base stickers before he would wave the cars in. The marine in uniform was waving them in.
4merstaf4dian, it's not just the trains. You can walk onto the base anytime of the day from Fuller Heights Road in Triangle. You can also come to the gate, say you have business in Q-Town and you are in. The point of the letter was the safety of sitting along 95 waiting to get in. One person wrote there was a change in the security posture on the base. That is part of working on a military base. But as you approached the gates, there was nothing different happening. No ID checks, just waving cars in.
I wrote a letter to the base commander while I was on active duty soon after the 9/11 attacks. The security requited at the gates is a joke. Anyone can come in by train on any day and never gets checked for ID, but if you drive a car you must sit on I-95 and put your lives at risk. It's stupid. Open the gates or move them in to areas that require more security.
their mission RE: BRAC and relocated several thousand people to Russel RD between Hoover High School and Quantico MCB. On paper, looks good to the boss. Coupla people get killed on 95?; not their worry, Alll the lights, lanes and routing mods are like putting a band aid on a sucking chest wound. This was dropped on the MCs lap and not all their fault. When threat level goes up, they gotta do what they gotta do and get the Duty Proctologist at the gate checking stuff out and the cars back up.
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