Virginia Governor Creates Task Force To Monitor Mark Center Traffic

The first wave of employees being relocated to the Washington Headquarters Service at the Mark Center in Alexandria is moving in this week as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process.

To help monitor the traffic impacts of the move, Governor Bob McDonnell (R) and Virginia Department of Transportation have created a new task force.

The new building, which is at Interstate 395 and Seminary Road, is expected to cause massive gridlock when all 6,400 employees arrive in the next year. The task force to monitor the traffic situation, help manage delays, and coordinate increased transit service.

The Interstate-395 corridor serves more than 200,000 commuters each workday, so traffic issues at the Seminary Road exit could disrupt the daily commute for thousands, as well as delay the movement of goods and freight.

McDonnell says the opening of the new facility will have "wide-reaching impacts that will be felt across the Northern Virginia region and throughout the commonwealth."

Members of the task force will monitor traffic flow and adjust surrounding traffic signals if needed to change traffic conditions.