OPM to open D.C. area federal offices under 3-hour delay Thursday

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The Office of Personnel Management will open federal government offices in the Washington, D.C. area on Thursday under a 3-hour delay with unscheduled telework and liberal leave.

The decision comes after a call with the Metropolitan Council of Governments on Wednesday evening to better understand the road conditions and the latest updates on mass transit.

OPM decided to open federal offices in D.C. under a 3-hour delay on Wednesday.

Despite the delay, the morning commute was still tough for many workers. WTOP, Federal News Radio’s sister station, reported that the morning commute lasted well past its normal timeframes and there were delays because of “disappearing lanes.”

A big factor in OPM’s decision for Thursday was the overnight weather. The National Weather Service forecasts a low of 17 degrees, meaning melted snow will freeze on the roadways and sidewalks.

Metro said the bus and rail services are moving closer to normal operations. WTOP reported that Metro will move Metrobus services to a “light” snow service plan starting Thursday morning. Under the “light” snow plan, all routes are in service; however, pre-planned snow detours are in effect to keep buses off of hilly terrain, narrow streets and other problem areas.

But Metrorail will continue with the modified service, which means trains will be running every 8 minutes during rush hour on each line, except for downtown stations where they will run every 4 minutes. Metro says all lines are open.

The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) operated on normal service on Wednesday and is expected to offer normal service on Thursday.

The MARC train says it will run a normal service on Thursday.

The counties and state departments of transportations are making progress in clearing subdivisions and side roads. WTOP reported in Prince George’s County, the Department of Public Works and Transportation says the goal is to have all residential roads passable by 9 p.m. Wednesday. As of Tuesday evening, the county said that 95 percent of the main roads were passable, and 40 percent of the neighborhood roads were passable.

WTOP also reported that on Tuesday, Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer McCord said that 40 percent of the roads in Northern Virginia’s subdivisions hadn’t been cleared.

On Wednesday, she said that in the last 24 hours crews had taken heavy equipment off the primary and secondary roads and into the subdivisions “to try to get a pass for everyone overnight.”

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