Region gears up for inauguration

Local
By Tara Donaldson
Source: Fauquier Times-Democrat
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14 2009
UPDATED WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14 2009

Metrorail will operate rush hour service for 17 consecutive hours (4 a.m. to 9 p.m.), will stay open for two extra hours (until 2 a.m.), and charge $4 for parking at its facilities.

Metrorail parking facilities will open at 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday Jan. 20. Metro will charge $4 (cash only) per automobile for parking on Inauguration Day at all Metrorail lots and garages. Parking will be free at all Metrorail facilities from Saturday, Jan. 17 to Monday, Jan. 19.

Amtrak will add trains along the Northeast Corridor on Jan. 20. Trains will require reservations and tickets must be purchased in advance.

Commuter rail service will supplement Amtrak service. Virginia Railway Express will operate between Fredericksburg/Manassas, and Washington, D.C. and will require reservations.

Travelers on Amtrak and commuter rail are advised to arrive at the station no earlier than one hour prior to departure time, pick up roundtrip tickets before boarding their trains, pack lightly and be prepared for new pedestrian traffic patterns.

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association will also provide bicycle valet service for inauguration-goers arriving by bicycle. Valet details and locations will be posted on WABA's Web site.

Region gears up for inauguration

By Tara Slate Donaldson

Times-Democrat Staff Writer

It's going to be a mess.

That's been the basic assessment from officials as the region braces for next week's inauguration festivities.

Millions of people are expected to descend on the nation's capital starting this weekend and planners are warning local residents to be prepared — and to stay off the roads, if possible.

"There clearly are going to be some substantial impacts on our region on the 20th, transportation probably first and foremost among them," said Prince William County Executive Craig Gerhart.

The events begin on Jan. 18 with opening ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial.

The swearing-in ceremony is set for noon on Jan. 20 at the Capitol, followed by a parade that will run from 4th Street down Pennsylvania Avenue. That will be followed by more than a dozen official balls and galas, plus up to 50 more unofficial ones throughout the region.

A national prayer service will then be held on Jan. 21 at the National Cathedral.

Altogether, it will make for a rough few days for locals, particularly on Inauguration Day, but more or less all week long.

Patrick Collins, emergency services coordinator for Prince William County, recommended that residents treat the event like a snowstorm. That is, everyone should keep three days of food, water and supplies in their houses, in case they can't get out.

That's mostly because of the traffic restrictions and the sheer number of cars expected on the roads.

If two million people all try to get into the District at the same time, it will create a 20-mile backup from D.C. out on Interstate 95 and Interstate 66, Collins said.

If the crowd is 2.5 million, that extends the I-66 backup all the way out to Interstate 81 and the I-95 backup to Richmond.

The good news is, if it's a smaller crowd of 1 to 1.5 million, traffic won't be much worse than the regular morning rush hour.

The restrictions will complicate matters on Tuesday, however.

According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, private vehicles will not be able to drive from Virginia into Washington, D.C. on Jan. 20.

HOV-2 restrictions will be in effect on I-66 and the Dulles Toll Road eastbound from Saturday until 3 a.m. Tuesday. After that, only buses will be allowed in the HOV lanes. The HOV lanes will open to westbound traffic on Tuesday evening.

On I-95 and I-395, the northbound HOV lanes will be for three-passenger cars only up until 3 a.m. on Tuesday, when the lanes will be closed to all but buses. The southbound lanes will be open for HOV-3 vehicles starting at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

However, those who are on the roads won't have to deal with school buses. Prince William, Manassas, Manassas Park, Fairfax, Loudoun, Alexandria and Arlington schools will be closed on Tuesday. Fauquier schools, however, will be opened as usual.

But the traffic problems won't necessarily end on Tuesday.

If two million people come into the District, two million people will have to get back out, and it isn't likely that they'll all head out immediately after Tuesday's festivities, Collins said.

And because some of those millions of people coming and going will end up stranded, localities are making contingency plans to assist people who could end up on the side of the road.

Officials are working with churches up and down the interstates to provide temporary shelter to people who find themselves stuck.

Hospitals will be another issue. All area hospitals have canceled elective surgery for Jan. 20 and because Washington, D.C. hospitals already operate at full capacity even on normal days, Northern Virginia facilities are expected to see patients brought out from the inauguration.

"With a crowd this size, it will mean that we will have probably at least 1,000 people who need medical attention," Collins said. "Our hospitals are going to be very busy."

And that's just the normal medical problems expected in a giant crowd: sprained ankles, diabetic issues and possibly weather-related problems like hypothermia.

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