AAA Predicts MGM Casino Will Bring Massive Traffic to PG County

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD — The opening of the new MGM National Harbor casino and resort is definitely going to be epic, but not just for people visiting the new venue -- it'll also be an extraordinary situation for people who have to commute through the area, and probably not in a good way.

AAA Mid-Atlantic is predicting that traffic volume will increase by 70,000 vehicles each week, with nearly 30,000 guests expected to be on hand when the resort actually opens on Thursday, Dec. 8, the organization said in a statement.

"Although the MGM Grand has one of the largest parking garages in the Washington metro area, with 5,000 parking spaces beneath the resort, officials expect twice as many automobiles, between 9,000 to 10,000 vehicles, will travel to the site during the first 24-hour period the casino is open," AAA said in the statement. "Traffic will be substantial and getting there or beyond it, or around it, will demand fortitude, perseverance and a reliance on text alerts. Compounding matters, the immediate area along the National Harbor, which currently attracts eight to 12 million visitors a year, has already witnessed one of the largest increases in traffic volume in the Washington metro area in recent years."

Things are going to be especially bad on the Capital Beltway near where I-495 and I-295 merge, an already busy site due to the presence of the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, the National Harbor Marina and the numerous restaurants, bars, shops and residential housing that have sprung up in the area in the last decade.

AAA Mid-Atlantic estimates that when MGM National Harbor opens, the area could see an average of nearly 178,000 vehicles a day, compared to 167,533 recorded in 2015 and 141,180 vehicles in 2009 when the Gaylord had just opened.

“If motorists and area residents think the traffic is bad now, they can expect a 6.2 percent increase in traffic volumes on the interchange near the 23-acre MGM Grand National Harbor Resort and Casino, which overlooks the Potomac River waterfront,” Ragina Cooper Averella, Public and Government Affairs Manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said in the statement. “After local politicians and celebrity guests cut the ceremonial ribbon, and the corks on champagne bottles are popped at this week’s private grand opening, the MGM Grand is expected to attract 25,000 visitors a day. That is tantamount to 9.1 million visitors and an additional 3.6 million vehicles in the vicinity annually.”

Image via MGM National Harbor