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Your Jan. 14 article on "failing intersections" ["DOT: Traffic at Andrews to hit ‘failing' level by 2011"] omits one chokepoint in the Andrews Air Force Base area.

At the evening rush hour, two lanes of eastbound traffic on heavily traveled Suitland Parkway merge with two lanes of heavily traveled eastbound traffic on Allentown Road onto a three-lane road (the continuation of Allentown Road). Furthermore, cars entering from Suitland Parkway want to get in the right-hand lane so they can turn right onto Pennsylvania Avenue, and cars entering from Allentown Road want to get in the left-hand lane to turn left onto Pennsylvania Avenue. This merge area not only causes traffic backups, but can be very dangerous.

The solution probably is to put traffic lights just before the merge area, but the timing of the signals would have to be well done to avoid huge backups on either road. This too creates major delays — but at least it would make this already "failing intersection," with even more traffic, much safer.

I hope this letter serves to get this location added to the list of problem intersections.

Donald Hirschfeld, Temple Hills