By Elizabeth McGowan, Energy News Network; August 12, 2020
Pedestrians, riders on horseback and stagecoaches flocked to the Long Bridge after President Thomas Jefferson signed federal legislation allowing construction of a span across the Potomac River in 1808.
Fast forward two centuries.
Now, yet another act of Congress is needed to double the volume of the latest iteration of what is now a two-track bridge — and a crushing chokepoint for commuter and freight train traffic in the nation’s capital. Federal legislation will enhance Virginia’s long-envisioned role as a rail linchpin in a greened-up transportation corridor connecting the Southeast with the Northeast.