Feds urged to telework Aug. 19 to avoid motorcycle tribute

Expected traffic delays due to the event's road closures have OPM asking feds to work from home.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is strongly urging federal employees to treat Aug. 19 like a snow day by teleworking, or even taking leave, to avoid getting stuck in gridlock caused by a somber Sept. 11, 2001 tribute ride organized by American’s 9/11 Foundation, a group that will drive to all three Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack plane crash sites in three days, reports the  Washington Post.

The motorcycle ride, consisting of an 1,800 bike-procession through Western Maryland and Northern Virginia on Aug. 19, will require closing the Dulles Greenway, Dulles Toll Road, Interstate 66 and Route 110 South, for at least an hour, the article said.

The police-escorted choppers will begin their trip in Northern Virginia and congestion is expected to be at its height between noon and 7 p.m., but officials also predict further traffic overflow onto the Capital Beltway and George Washington Parkway even after the other highways reopen, according to the Post.