BRAC Traffic Woes, Cont'd.

The suburban Virginia and Maryland congressional delegations were pleased with the Pentagon's announcement on Tuesday that it is allocating $270 million for road work at Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, Va., and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

The traffic abatement improvements are needed to accommodate the new commuting needs of the thousands of military employees being moved this autumn under the Base Realignment and Closure plan.

But Anne Hughes, spokeswoman for Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., points out that this new money is linked to the Pentagon's medical needs. That means the anti-gridlock road projects long-sought by her boss and others for the newly opened Mark Center office complex in Alexandria, Va., did not qualify for this pot of money. But at Moran's urging, the Pentagon has released $20 million for short- and mid-term fixes around the Mark Center.