now, for your sunday, viewpoint. good sunday morning. thanks for joining us. whether you like it or not, if you drive in this region, you spend a lot of time stuck in traffic. this morning we take a look at some major projects that will eventually help ease our traffic headaches. adam, let's travel around the region, if you will. >> let's go back to your opening statement and cross our fingers that all these projects help our traffic and transportation. >> let's start with i-66 where single drivers will soon be able to hop on inside the beltway but pay tolls. >> they are building something

network in virginia. if you are willing to pay a toll, can you do that only during rush hours. right now if you try to use 66 in any rush hour direction you can only do it in hov 2. in the coming years you'll get the ability to pay to use that inside the beltway, and the state is also promising you that you're going to get a speedy trip there. big change in the beltway and outside the beltway. really the whole 66 corridor all the way out to like gainesville is going to be changed. >> there are critics who call this a commuter tax and want the general assembly to stop it. >> it's snnot stopping. there's physical work actually being done. and in a lot of cases, it's real heavy-duty type stuff being done. so you're going to see that work progress over the coming years.

they're going to do is add another lane to 66 eastbound inside the beltway, so you're going to seat road actually wide and bit in certain sections. so the work is under way, there's no stopping that project, and just recently the state awarded a contract for work outside the beltway, so nothing is going to stop. >> how about the i-395 extension. that's eight miles. >> northern virginia, if you take a look at the road network in northern virginia, it's clear they're betting big on this whole network of express toll lanes, that's just another thing coming to 395. most people are familiar with the expressways. so the idea is if you had an hov-type system, you could use all theet lase lanes for free, u had three or more in the car, you

which is a good incentive to use a carpool, however, you also get the ability to pay to use it if you have less than the amount of people required. hov 3 usually, to use the lanes. so you also have the ability to pay to get around traffic, and i'm not sure you've ever been on the express ways. people complain about the toll, because it goes up or down depending on the level of congestion. >> a lot of people don't mind to pay, some have problems paying. >> it's all about personal preference. >> there's a new bridge, the harry nice bridge. >> a lot of people are saying we need another potomac county, that would connect montgomery and loudoun county. no one has come on a consensus on where the bridge should go. the nice bridge is ld

actually out of capacity. and so what the state has decided to do is put a potomac river crossing in there, a little further to the south. nevertheless they're going to redo the whole bridge. it's basically going to double in capacity, and that's a pretty big statement by maryland, saying they're going to go through with that new bridge project. bridges are hard to do. huge work. >> a lot of money. we saw what happened with the wilson bridge which was over capacity the day it opened. it takes a lot to get the bridges up and running, but if you do the project right, it can have substantial benefits. >> and whether montgomery county's going to get rapid bus transit. >> 270 is one of those corridors, you're like, when is something going to change here, and it doesn't seem like anything's changing. there's been plans for transit networks, talks about toll lanes, that kind of stuff. what the state has done so much is study what they should do

they've said okay, you know what? we need the population to come to us with an idea. so they've thrown out to developers, to kind of i.t. people, anyone who can come up with a smart traffic solution to improve 270. and they're willing to listen. >> we have to take a break, when we come back, we go to the mgm national harbor and talk about traffic there.

the mgm national harbor opening was greeted with excitement and fears of gridlock. and adam, opening night we saw lots of both, didn't we? >> well, yes and no. around the rush hour period, 5:00, 6:00, it actually wasn't that bad. but here you're taking a look at some video. there's the wilson bridge right there, and it got a little heavier as the casino opened. that is the issue. if you take a look at the casino, the local roads there, thats

and when they have big events or any opening night, anything on a grand scale, that's going to be the area that really see the impact. see the ring of the casino is where it gets tough. local roads like oxen hill road, the outlets, 210, indian head highway, that will take the crush of the traffic. >> we saw beltway exits closed. >> yes, now that has to happen if you want to manage the entry and exit points, it's because those loc roads are getting backed up that you can't keep funneling cars through. it's like if too many people go to a metro station you have to turn off the escalators because you can't keep sending people down. the police chief of prince georges county said we're never going to see tonight again, which i thought was an interesting way to put it, but he's right. we were

again, and all that excitement and the crush to get there at once. like it or not, it's open 24 hours a day now for the rest of its existence. so there's never going to be a point where you have that buildup and a rush to get in. maybe for an event, but as the next couple weeks go on you'll start to see the traffic patterns smooth out and be more predictable. they've studied casinos around the country, mgm has, and they found that on sundays, today, there will be an influx of people, because it coincides with the nfl. a lot of people want to go watch nfl games there and casinos get busy those days. >> one of the things they are also looking at, the police and the casino folks is a plan to keep the ride-sharing services moving by, by doing their dropoffs in a designated

uber and lyft and all the other car-sharing services were bringing their passengers and just delivering them wherever they could stop, and those little 20-second stops start to back up. >> yeah, you have to have a designated area, you can't have controlled chaos where people are going all over the place. predictability is the key to any traffic plan. you need to know where to go, how to get people in and out. that only makes sense, and a lot of, maybe more public transportation or public places that are going to use ride-sheariride-shea ride-sharing services, it becomes more predictable. like airports, you know where they pick you up and where they drop you off. >> and the another thing police did, there were boots on the ground. police were standing at the intersections. will they keep that up, do you think? do they need to keep that up?

for day to day events, no. say you have a big show that's there, yeah, you probably do need to man or staff concern intersections to make sure people keep going. what you're looking for is movement. you can't rely on everyone to figure out which way it's going to go. sometimes you just need people to direct. for big events i would say that's a good bet going forward. this is going to change things, but i don't think it's, you know, going to be a big plug fo. it's going to be like any venue, fedex field, when there's a game, you expect traffic. it's just once things become predictable then you learn how to plan out your commute around those things. and it gets easier for everybody. >> so we make adjustments and go on with our lives and the construction on indian head highway and route 210

difference in terms of how people can get in and out of there, they need to boost public transformation. there's really only two bus lines that go in and out of national harbor right now. any way you could beef that up would be a good thing to do. >> adam, thanks so much, we'll be back. stay with us.

y25eny y17vy

hi, i am here with your second part of your report. here with me are two guests to tell me about the economic impact for the surrounding area. greg o'dell is with events d.c., they bring major events to the area. and vice president of peterson properties. thank you for joining us today. t

been open for a little more than a week now to just huge, huge audiences, and we have seen so many people, thousands of people filing to check out in the casinos, the restaurants, the shopping. can you tell us about the economic growth for that area? >> it's extraordinary. it's been growing for some time now, but mgm is just a huge catalyst, and what's interesting, it's 24/7. so it's generating business 24 hours a day, seven days a week. >> we've already seen some big names coming to mgm. you recently had boys 2 men and bruno mars. can you tell us what buzz you're seeing for your company and building events around mgm? >>been fantastic. we're not just a region with a couple of cities.

exciting new property here that we can all now enjoy, and certainly, for washington, d.c. it compliments everything we're doing. we're excited about it. >> is that something you're clab rating to build more events? do you have anything on the pipeline you're working on right now? >> we don't have a specific portfolio right now, but as we've begun to market the region, our convention center has already been in touch with mgm. we'll not only market but probably certainly do events together. >> and adam touched upon this issue a little bit. traffic. how have you addressing some of the concerns of traffic for that area, not just the casino but the harbor and communities. >> there's been a lot of work put together to work on the traffic, a lot of road yes, ma'am -- improvements. and people are getting

the new traffic plans and how think work. so things are flowing very nicely already. >> are you hearing from neighbors? >> actually, they love it. it's spectacular, it's beautiful, elegant, all of the above. and people are really embracing it. >> and you mentioned a little bit about the partnerships with national harbor and mgm. can you talk about how much collaboration you had building up natural harbor and mgm and what you expect to see in terms of mgm's arrival there. >> the tanger outlets, downtown national harbor and of course gaylord. that's one big area now. so it's real functioning very collaboratively. it's been in the plans for over 20 years. and it's finally come to fruition. >> will you have

the future? >> yes, the rest of the land will be developed under the master strategy, and there will be a lot of things to come. >> and the holidays what are you expecting? >> it's great. you have ice at gaylord, downtown with its tree, mgm has a spectacular atrium and its decor. it's really becoming a place to see at the holidays. >> and greg, what would you like to see events wise with national harbor in making this a regional destination? >> i reserve our right to talk out of both sides of our mouth. we certainly, there is a component, there's competition, so we do have similar venues. on some level there will be some competition as relates to the type of concerts we both do respectively. having said that, i think there is a way we can market amenities that can play off each other. it's no different for us as we tell people, visitors come here, not only can you enjoy all the great things in washingt

but you will be able to enjoy what happens at mgm and national harbor. so we'll do more of that. i won't of talk about all their events. >> we'll talk more about the inauguration, stay with us. view point is going to be right back. we rely on our courage. the kind of courage that shows up when we need it... and when cancer is least expecting it. courage. just one reason more of us are surviving cancer than dying from it. give now to the american cancer society.

welcome back to viewpoint, joining us is the vice president of peterson who manages national harbor and greg o'dell. tell us a little bit more about the master plan for mgm and national harbor. we know, two decades in the making. what happens next? >> what happens next is we're still developing a lot of residential, you know, the next apartment house is under way called the haven. so more people are living at national harbor than ever before. medical office buildi

planned, will start here in the next two months, which is 100,000 feet. so continues and continues to build. >> and did you plan it to be a community of people who live, work, enjoy themselves all in this one space? >> that was always the original plan, to be automobible to shop and play. >> what about the inauguration, hotel bookings. are you seeing full bookings at national harbor? >> we definitely are. gay lord alord's enjoying a lote balls. and they're coming back and bigger this time. >> you host balls at many of your venues. tell us what you are seeing. >> we've been fortunate, we've hosted inaugural balls since 1985. and even the last four in the new convention center that we have. planning is

way, we expect nothing different than an amazing experience. we've been working with the presidential committee. they're going to have two inaugural balls as opposed to six. and we're very excited. and i think talking to our hotel partners, they're starting to see pickup as well with their hotels. >> with each new administration there is a different energy, an influx of people coming in, can you tell me how you expect your bookings to change or how that will affect the city in the new administration? >> sure, for us, it's always exciting to have a new administration, so we welcome that for many reasons, if nothing else, we want to showcase to the world washington, d.c. it's always a great opportunity for us to do that. having said that, we have worked very hard to create this destination. we welcome the partners who live and wo

government, but we have amazing restaurants, amazing hotels that despite whatever happens every four years, we think washington's a great place to be. >> it's hard to keep up. you have multiple places to visit at mgm, national harbor as well. >> it's really hard to keepi up. even with national harbor and mgm, there's 40 new restaurants in the last six years. >> we have a lot of meeting to do, that's for sure. what about the big projects for 2017? what are you seeing in the pipeline and what are some of your dream projects, events for national harbor? >> there's a lot of great entertainment coming our way, the best of the best is coming. but mag fest, and a lot of things have happened over the years. they have more energy than ever, and they're larger. and a lot of it has to do with the improved economy, people want to be in the greater d.c. market, with everything else to enjoy around the c

roll. >> i know the carnegie library is a big one. >> we signed a letter of intent with apple. that will help transform that amazing venue, but for us, 2017 is going to be one of the busiest years we've ever had, 21 major city-wide conventions. and from a project perspective, we're working on a new entertainment and sports arena in ward eight. it will be the home of the training facility for the washington wizards. we'll also happen to have a new entertainment sports facility and arena that will have about 4200 seats. so we're excited to do more programming that will compliment the region. but we're excited. and one of the biggest projects we're working on now is the re-imagining of our k campus. we think that's a project, a chance of a lifetime to recreate that vision for that pt

busy. >> what sorts of things do you think about when you're trying to draw people to the nation's capital? >> for one, you know, our destination is now truly an international destination. so i think we focus on bringing the international visitor here. and we have to think differently and globally about how we attract those visitors, but even our own domestic attendees, that demographic has also changed in how they meet and communicate with each other and how they have sense of community. so all of that comes into play, and when we start to think about what types of events we're booking into our facilities. >> what about you? >> i couldn't echo that more. we have ipw coming, 6,000 international tour directors and associations. so the city's going to benefit for that for many, many years to come. >> kent digby, greg o'dell, thank you for joining us, and enjoy the rest of your day.

. horrifying deadly crash. this is one manufacture crash as cross our region as a winter blast moved through. tom's got the latest ton day's dramatic warmup. >> a new location for the controversial deplora ball. the brand new details just coming into our newsroom. one week away, folks. christmas is fastly approaching. that means many of you are going to be out at the stores trying to snatch up those last minute deals. what to look for as you head out this week. >> one week? >> one week. that's all you got? >> that's all we have? >> and you can still get stuff online. there is a