After weeks of boarded up storefronts, fenced off federal properties, road closures, and a serious military presence, it looks like DC is finally returning to normal, or at least a new normal.
In a press conference this afternoon, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed that out-of-state National Guard would begin leaving the city today, which will greatly reduce the military presence in the city. DC National Guard will remain here in an assistance capacity through January 30.
All bridges in and out of the city are now open, DC Police Chief Robert Contee III said. Driving restrictions should be mostly back to normal by tomorrow, and crews began removing barriers and fencing from major streets last night.
The fencing around the National Mall is also being taken down, a National Park spokesperson confirmed. The public should have access to the Mall by Monday at the latest. There’s currently no word on when the White House’s perimeter fence will come down. Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy has previously said the Capitol fence will remain in place until at least early February.
Jane is a Chicago transplant who now calls Cleveland Park her home. Before joining Washingtonian, she wrote for Smithsonian Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she studied journalism and opera.
