No major rush hour traffic delays were reported Thursday as demonstrators from Our DC and Occupy DC marched from McPherson Square to the Key Bridge beginning at 2:30 p.m.
Officers blocked half of K Street for the march. They also temporarily blocked half of the bridge. When protesters remained on the sidewalks of the bridge, police reopened it to cars.
On the bridge, protesters displayed an 80-foot banner reading "D.C. bridges need work, so do we."
Protesters began to leave the bridge before 5 p.m., and police escorted demonstrators back to McPherson Square.
The aim of the demonstration was to encourage investment in infrastructure repair, and to create work for the local unemployed.
In addition, another group marched in from the west. OccupyNova marched from Ballston along Clarendon Boulevard to the bridge.
The District Department of Transportation issued the following advisory on Thursday afternoon:
Because any demonstration within Washington, DC always presents the possibility of causing traffic delays, the Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Police Department urge motorists to be aware of the possibility of heavy pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic between the Key Bridge, McPherson Square, and surrounding areas. We further encourage motorists to avoid the areas described and use alternate methods of transportation if possible. Additionally, motorists and pedestrians traveling in these areas should use extreme caution.
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News4's Chris Gordon reported that Occupy DC demonstrators met with D.C. police before the march began Thursday afternoon. The march left McPherson Square at 2:30 p.m., and proceeded west along K Street to Washington Circle. Demonstrators then traveled along Pennsylvania Avenue to M Street into Georgetown, and then on to the Key Bridge.
D.C. Police captain J.D. Herold told marchers that when they reached the bridge, they had to stay on the sidewalks or face arrest. Protesters were told anyone resisting arrest faces a felony charge.
Twenty-one police officers accompanied the group on their march. There was a heavy police presence in Georgetown.
In October, Our DC occupied Sen. Mitch McConnell's office, demanding to discuss the plight of the nation's unemployed with the minority leader.
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