Traffic’s gonna be ugly next week in Washington — way uglier than usual. President Obama and the leaders of more than 40 other countries will be meeting at the Washington Convention Center Monday and Tuesday for a major nuclear weapons summit, and several nearby streets will be completely closed. So the Office of Personnel Management is advising Washington-area federal employees to telework or use alternative work schedules on Monday and Tuesday.
The road closures are likely to snarl traffic throughout downtown Washington, and parking restrictions, detoured buses and the temporary closure of the Mount Vernon Square Metro Station won’t help either.
OPM Director John Berry yesterday issued a memo to the government’s chief human capital officers that “strongly urged” eligible employees to telework. Employees under alternative work schedules were also advised to take Monday or Tuesday off. Non-essential, non-emergency employees can request to use annual leave, leave without pay, or compensatory time off to steer clear of the District those days. OPM advises employees who have to show up next week to carpool or take the Metro to reduce traffic, but be prepared for your commute to take a lot longer than normal.
Remember how much fun it was driving that first week after the snowstorms? Sounds like we’re in for more of those good times.
