Why are there not more bridges or tunnels in the DC area and south of there to get across the stinking river?

Question

You either have to cross way up in DC or way down in Dahlgren, va. There's no tunnels, bridges or ferries to get across that river and sometimes takes more than three hours to get to the other side.

Answer 1

If you operate a ferry, you have to find a suitable region to dump a lot of new traffic coming from the ferry. How many waterfront neighborhoods want that?

You have to consider also this is the nation's capital. It's a thriving major market with a pretty high cost of living. So the further you live from the action, the more you have to pay for gas and the more you have to sit in traffic.  

Answer 2

The Potomac River is still navigable up to Washington; meaning that boats still have to be able to make it up the river. Too many low bridges make it impossible for boats to travel across, without building a drawbridge (like the Woodrow Wilson Bridge). As they're very expensive to build and few people live in the area around Saint Mary and Calvert Counties, the expense of building a bridge outweighs the potential benefits.

As for ferries, if there were the demand for ferries across the river, I feel like companies would operate boats across the river. However, seeing as there are no ferries, it would leave me to believe that the demand is not high enough for ferries to operate in the area.

Answer 3

They have been studying traffic bypasses around the DC Metro area for the longest time, and once you live in the area long enough if you don't like sitting in traffic backups esp during the holidays: (i) you become familiar with the windows of opportunity and (ii) you make a point to know all the backdoor routes and how to get around traffic congestion bec HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION is super expensive and all the governments are tight on money due to housing crisis impact on tax revenue.

Sorry to say Only Other Choice is Move Closer In!