If they had just built the "Outer Beltway" many, many moons ago - we would not have the troubles we have now.
Two concentric circles with "spokes" radiating out from the inner circle - I recently saw a map of a city in Japan that was set up this way. Works GREAT!
If they had built the "Outer Beltway", all pass-thru traffic from PA and other points north could have been routed onto the Outer - BYPASSING DC altogether ...
BTW - one thing though, the easements and rights-of-way that they secured back in the late 1950's for the "Outer Beltway" were NOT far enough out away from DC.
I live in Kensington [about 1 mile north of the existing Beltway] and can go north for about 3 miles on Connecticut Avenue to where the easement for the "Outer Beltway" STILL exists today ...
They were not able to build the ICC for decades. It was planned decades ago.
I hate the DC system, incidentally. Partial logical rectangular grid on top of a stupid spoke (damned traffic circles) system - consequent triangles everywhere - everyone always gets lost. No wonder.