I used to live in Maryland, right next to Andrews AFB. Quite often, the Secret Service would close off the Suitland Parkway - the major thruway to SE Maryland from DC - when dignitaries were about to go to or from Andrews (POTUS usually flew in helicopter there).
There wasn’t usually an official heads-up. But the local news radio station, WTOP, would field calls from commuters that told them about apparent readiness for closing off the parkway. Unfortunately though, there wasn’t a good work-around if you detoured - I-295, Pennsylvania Ave, US-50, etc. were almost always choked up with traffic.
Luckily I heard about it on the radio on my way to work yesterday…I needed to be in Culver City so I took the 10 West and it was perfect all the way there. If I hadn’t heard about it then I definitely would’ve been stuck on the 405 South…not fun.
It would be nice to know generally what part of the city is going to be screwed up and at what time of day. I’m not going to avoid every sub shop in the city.
That was his famous pre-dawn visit to the Lincoln Memorial. He was accompanied by secret service agents (and his valet, Manolo Sanchez, whom I like to picture as Manuel from Fawlty Towers).
My dear, you had it EASY. My husband got stuck in it, too. It took him 1 hour and 50 minutes to get from Melrose & Highland to the 405, and a big part of that time-waste was going down what turned out to be a dead end street and having to turn around and go back where he’d just come from. How did that happen? The fucking police directing traffic were sending everyone that way!!!
Eh, if he has to do a fundraiser, he should fly into Burbank and do it in La Canada Flintridge or something, so the rest of us can get to work. Or he should do it on a weekend or holiday.
Not him, specifically. I just live near LAX, so I always get annoyed when VIPs are in town (or political party conventions or WTO meetings or…)
Ever since 9/11, I’ve been of the opinion that there should be a swap of National Airport for Andrews AFB. Let Andrews, with its undoubtedly substantially greater capacity than National, become the nearest commercial airport to downtown (and extend the Green Line out there and give it a direct overhead highway connector from the Beltway), move all functions of Andrews unrelated to moving the President, VP, and foreign dignitaries in and out of town to other bases elsewhere, use what is now National for moving the President etc. in and out of town, and construct a direct, secure subway line from the White House to National.
National has more than enough capacity to get the POTUS and the poohbahs in and out of town, Andrews would be a big upgrade in capacity over National as a commercial airport, there’d be a lot less need to block DC traffic for the comings and goings of the POTUS and the aforementioned poohbahs, private and commercial aircraft would be kept several miles further away from the White House and Capitol, and other than the cost, it would be a win-win all the way around.
A friend of mine since childhood was one of the Marines that guard the President during the late 90’s. He, as well as an SS agent I met through him both talk about several times when Clinton did just that.
It certainly would’ve made my neighborhood more quiet. As it is, whenever the mechanics at Andrews fixed a plane, then need to test fire it for a while, they’d taxi it to the back side of the base and rev the jets in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, the back side of the base backed up to my back yard.
And whenever a jet was scrambled into the DC airspace, it’d usually take off right over my house.
I believe I have an answer to why they don’t swap National and Andrews: the runways at National aren’t long enough for the 747s that serve as Air Force One. 757s are the largest plane that can use National. I remember watching them from my office window in Crystal City. The 757s would use most of the runway to take off, then need to ascend at a very steep angle.