Dulles Toll Road / Beltway Interchange - Part III

So this piece by the esteemed Dr. Gridlock over at the WP really pissed me off.  Link:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/post/beltwaydulles-toll-road-work-zone-headaches-to-continue/2011/09/22/gIQAb9lanK_blog.html

Summary - you know how I've been complaining for weeks about the changes that VDOT has made to this interchange for the construction?  (Incidentally, VDOT has blocked this blog and some of its contributors on Twitter - apparently the truth hurts, even if you are Tanooki Mario!)  Apparently, this is the best they can do, because they're building a mini-Mixing Bowl, and sold our souls to the Aussies in the process.  Sucks to be us, thanks for paying increasing tolls for the privilege, though!  :-P

Hey Dr. Gridlock - how about going to bat for us?  Instead of parroting VDOT's company line, do some investigative reporting - how on Earth did this construction "plan" get approved in the first place?  To simply inform your readers that "Sorry, things will stay like this until December 2012" is not acceptable.  For those of us who drive this route daily, there's a much bigger threat coming - and that would be Old Man winter.  This interchange is currently a cluster-f of epic proportions even in good weather.  Throw some snow into this abomination and you may need the Fairfax Rescue team to get them out!

And all so the Aussies can build HOT lanes... Protip to our Aussie friends:  It's a recession.  The economy is in the deepest slumber it's been in since the Great Depression.  Guess who probably won't be spending $20 to save 5 minutes on the Beltway?  But thanks for the construction mess for three years!

Has anyone seen the sun?

Apparently it's been 11 days since we've had a bright, sunny day around these parts.  Maybe that's why everyone is so irritable and crabby lately, myself included?

I mean, we've had an earthquake, a hurricane, a power outage due to said hurricane, a tropical storm, flooding, another power outage, and now perpetual cloud cover.  What's next?

I know I haven't been posting as much as I said I would... it's just hard to be motivated lately, and things always seem to get in the way (work, flood repairs, etc.)  But I am hoping to turn things around here and get back on the spaceship, especially as the weather turns colder.

On the bright side - great win for the Giants over the Eagles today (my poor fantasy football starting decisions aside) and the Yankees are on the way to burying their rival Red Sox.  So even if it's cloudy - we'll always have sports!