Virginia forgot to build all the other roads needed to bypass these corridors, and the state will have to do that first before signing over a single square foot of highway to anyone else.
I would suggest a new major elevated thoroughfare with limited access between I-66 and I-395 roughly where Glebe Road is today.
We also need about 15 new crossing points over I495, and Little River Turnpike should be modified into an 8 lane limited access combination expresslane/access road system ~ preferably from Centerville to Annandale.
Projects that aid only the wealthy in getting to and from DC should definitely be put on a backburner until the above named projects are completed.
Oh, yeah, and we need a couple more bridges over the Potomac into DC, and at least 3 bridges from Fairfax County to Montgomery County ~
Absolutely! It was dumber than dirt to build the Beltway with so few non-intersecting crossovers - if you work ANYWHERE inside the Beltway, you're stuck on the same few roads that lead to interchanges whether you actually need to be ON the B'way or not. I believe there are only two crossovers in Virginia that don't have interchanges - Idlewood over in Falls Church and one in Springfield whose name escapes me.
A couple of more bridges into DC? I’d say four or five might do it. Also, try driving from Virginia to Maryland via 395 and 295. You have to get off 395, cross the bridge at Pennsylvania Avenue and go through two stoplights in order to get onto 295. It is worse coming back, because you have to drive all the way to the Howard exit and go through two lights to get back to 395. Why is there no direct access? There should be an access road from 295 to 395 southbound at Pennsylvania Avenue. The alternative to all this is taking the Beltway and going 30 miles out of your way from, say, Crystal City to Laurel. To my personal knowledge, they have been “improving” 295 and New York Avenue (Route 50) since 1994. It is still a rolling disaster. I realize this isn’t Virginia, but the same thinking applies: they spend tax money on all kinds of ridiculous programs but the roads in OUR NATION’S CAPITAL suck.
Check this out to raise your blood pressure: Link
The "Monticello Freeway" (Braddock Road) would have basically been what you suggested. It's amazing what officials pissed away here. And BTW, no one addresses the traffic tie-ups thanks to the HOT construction. 495 is now messed up almost every day from just north of 236 to try to get to 66 starting around 2:00. Same for coming south from Tysons.