VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Driving down Interstate-264 in Virginia Beach was an entirely different scene Wednesday, about 24 hours after President Joe Biden's visit to Virginia Beach caused an unexpected headache on the roads.
The Secret Service shut down the highway and nearby roads to allow the president to travel safely. However, the security measure quickly turned into hundreds of drivers being stuck for hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic, unaware of the major road closures.
Many people took to social media to express their anger. Some people wrote online, saying the backup made them 45 minutes late for work. Others said they couldn't pick up their children from school on time.
Keith McDowell ended up as one of the drivers who got stuck on his way to the store.
He said what would have taken him only 10 minutes, took him more than an hour to get through traffic.
"I knew that the president was coming, but I didn't know where and when and which traffic areas to avoid," said McDowell. "But, I didn't see a way to bail out of it. Every road I would have turned off was blocked. I guess they were blocking 264."
McDowell said he felt like one of the luckier travelers since he is retired and was just driving to buy a new pair of shoes. He said he understood other people had a lot more pressing matters. Nevertheless, he said even a small warning about road closures could have spared him the long trip.
"Everything is okay now. It is what it is," said McDowell. "But yeah, a little bit of advanced notice so that people who could have avoided traffic could have avoided it and those that needed to travel could get to their destination"
13News Now reached out to leaders of Virginia Beach, the Virginia Department of Transportation Hampton Roads Division, Virginia Beach police, and the Virginia State Police.
A spokeswoman for VDOT responded to our questions, saying:
"Safety is VDOT’s number one priority, and in matters of national security, the department complies with the Secret Service to ensure our government and the public remain safe.
The Virginia Department of Transportation, as a state agency, has no authority over a presidential visit, and any additional questions should be directed to the Secret Service."
Each agency referred us to the U.S. Secret Service about the decision to shut down roadways with little to no warning.
A representative of the Secret Service sent this statement to 13News Now:
“The Secret Service works diligently with our state and local partners to make every effort possible to anticipate and minimize potentially adverse impacts to the public during a protective movement.
While we are not in a position to release motorcade route specifics due to potential security vulnerabilities this may cause, we do work with our partners to ensure that there is general awareness that a protectee of the US Secret Service is visiting that area.
We are thankful to our partners in law enforcement for their operational support and additionally thank local community members for their cooperation as we work to protect our nation’s leaders throughout the course of their duties.”