Roads and more roads

Several students attending library instruction classes have wanted to write argumentative research papers about roads in Northern Virginia: the tedious commute (as discussed in a recent Washington Post Magazine cover story, "Driven to Extremes"--you can find the Post and the Magazine at washingtonpost.com or by logging in to a database such as ProQuest using your NovaConnect ID); the fights over building new roads or increasing toll fees; the social, ecological, geographical, cultural, and countless other implications of the roads we use and the roads being (or not being) built.

You might be interested in this pamphlet from the Virginia Department of Transportation: A History of Roads in Virginia: "The Most Convenient Wayes." Or try a search in ProQuest or InfoTrac for transportation, commute, VDOT, road, toll road, freeway, beltway, Northern Virginia, Washington Metro area, or any combination of these or other related keywords. As always, feel free to ask a librarian for assistance in your searches!

Top image: Aerial view of a traffic jam, 14th Street and the Mall, Washington, D.C., Apr. 1937. 30-N-37-1360A. Available at the National Archives.