Hospital workers scheduled to work in Washington on Inauguration Day will now be able to take a shuttle bus from Northern Virginia.
An agreement to allow the service was reached this week between Virginia and Washington officials and the U.S. Secret Service following a meeting convened by Northern Virginia congressmen.
Metro-region hospital officials told U.S. Reps. Jim Moran, D-8th District; Gerry Connolly, D-11th District and Frank Wolf, R-10th District; and the Secret Service that they were concerned that area hospitals would be under-staffed on Inauguration Day given the bridge closures and road restrictions.
The inauguration transportation plan had recommended that medical personnel use bridge crossings from Mary-land.
"Hospitals are a major component of our emergency response infrastructure and should be treated as such. With Metro expected to be at-capacity, more transportation options for personnel living in Virginia were needed so that they could get to work," Moran said. "With this decision, we better ensure our region's medical centers are operating at their highest level of readiness on this historic day."
"I appreciate the U.S. Secret Service, Virginia State Police and other agencies willingness to consider revi-sions to the original transportation plan," said Moran.
Wolf said he was pleased with the agreement. "The changes that have been made should meet their needs while not jeopardizing security or negatively impacting traffic flow," he said.
Also during the meeting, Connolly again expressed his concern that all bridges from Virginia into the District would be closed. "While implemented out of necessity, [the closures] are going to adversely affect the ability of Northern Virginians to participate in the event and conduct their daily commerce on both sides of the Poto-mac," he said.
Staff writer Aileen Streng can be reached at 703-878-8010.
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