Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.
A proposal to add express lanes to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge is getting some pushback from the Coalition for Smarter Growth, which argued VDOT’s toll lane could take Metrorail’s right of way.
The Coalition says that, if enacted, the Virginia Department of Transportation’s 495 Southside Study will create traffic bottlenecks. They’re asking locals to voice their displeasure by emailing public officials, and say that the express lanes will not improve general traffic on the bridge and that more cars will avoid the bridge and spill onto local roadways.