Here is an artist's rendition of what a 12-Lane bridge might look like: 12-Lane concept.
The City of Alexandria and the Sierra Club filed suit against the bridge. The judge upheld the suit and is requiring an Environmental Impact Statement be completed. Here is a recent (2 May 1999) article from the Washington Post. Congress may challenge this ruling, which could set a dangerous precedent for future override of environmental regulations.
A website that tracks this issue on a daily basis is: Coalition for a Sensible Bridge.
What can you do? Send a message to your local representatives and to Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater (400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC, 20590; telephone 202-366-1111; FAX: 202-366-7202). Some key points to mention are:
The Greater Washington Board of Trade is one of the biggest supporters of the Monster Bridge, a 12-lane expanded Wilson Bridge that at 244 feet would be one of the world's widest. In a recent Washington Business Journal, the Board of Trade's weekly update featured commentary on the Wilson Bridge, saying that Alexandria should drop its lawsuit and allow the 12-lane bridge to go ahead.
They are inviting folks to log on to their web site to weigh in -- and we should! The website is http://www.bot.org/transportation.html; scroll down the page for one of the "feedback" links.
We definitely want to send a message that we don't want a 12-lane bridge that won't solve traffic problems, it's inappropriate for such a big bridge to be sited near Old Towne, there's no plan for transit or bike/pedestrian access, etc.
For information on the "preferred" alternative (preferred by the Board of Trade), costs, and other information, visit http://www.wilsonbridge.com/.