Grace Palo
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Prince George’s County is holding a meeting to discuss and provide details regarding the grand opening of the MGM National Harbor on December 8.
Over 160 police officers may be deployed in order to help handle the traffic created by the grand opening and its activities.
The opening day could require, according to officials, twice as many officers that was needed when the Tanger Outlets opened three years ago. Prince George’s County Police Chief Henry P. Stawinski III is expected to join other county officials at the meeting where they will present details about what to expect on the opening day.
The National Harbor developer and MGM announced last month some aspects of the plan they are taking leading up to the grand opening, including, but not limited to, a $10 million in road improvements near the 23 acre site. The improvements include National and Harborview avenues, which run parallel and are being renamed, will be turned into one-way roads with traffic flowing in opposite directions, creating a loop around the casino. MGM has built a new road connecting Harborview Avenue north to National Avenue as well as a new alternative route.
New technology and manpower will also be accessible and used leading up to the resort’s opening, according to MGM officials, but also the day of and the weeks immediately after. There will be new message boards used to communicate the traffic patterns to allow residents and visitors to adjust to the change in traffic. Up to as many as 3,600 casino workers will be asked to park off-site, in order to prevent more traffic
MGM Spokeswoman Dasha Ross Smith said, “As a 24-hour operation, we expect to see thousands come through our doors,” she said. “While we can’t estimate the number of visitors we may have, we will have a plan in place to support the level of excitement that our grand opening may generate.” MGM says it is currently expecting as many as 20,000 daily visitors.
National Harbor and MGM have been working with the county closely to create a new transportation plan that addresses the anticipated traffic and are working to get traffic control officers to help sworn police officers manage the traffic.
Casino and county officials say customers should plan on considering the use of other transportation options, such as ride-hailing and public transit. Metro is adding a new bus line this month that will connect the resort and National Harbor to Old Town Alexandria and Metro stations across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.
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