Virginia will pick up the cost for inauguration goers to ride buses free to Northern Virginia Metro stations Tuesday.
The state will pay eight Northern Virginia public transit agencies to run 300 buses on 45 routes that serve Metro stations, pedestrian access points and park-and-ride lots, according to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.
The free service will operate from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m., though some operators may run later depending on demand.
The one-day special bus service will cost about $975,000, said state Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer. "We are seeking full reimbursement from Congress and the administration for these expenses," he said.
The money for the service will come from state economic contingency funds.
Inaugural visitors can catch buses into Metro stations as far south as Prince William County and from as far west as Loudoun County, said Jennifer Pickett with Rail and Public Transportation.
The park-and-ride lot nearest to Richmond on Interstate 95 is near Exit 158, the Prince William County Parkway exit, she said.
Officials expect enormous crowds flocking to President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration -- and enormous traffic tie-ups. Estimates run from 2 million to 5 million people jamming into Washington on Tuesday.
"Highway congestion is going to be significant," Pickett said. "We've been clear on that."
To avert massive traffic jams, state officials have been going all out to persuade people to use public transportation rather than drive themselves.
However, public transit has its own limitations. "Can we move 2 million people to the [Capitol] Mall? Absolutely not," said Washington Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein. Metro trains can handle a little more than 100,000 riders an hour in the best case, Farbstein said, and Tuesday "won't be the best-case scenario."
"This is clearly unprecedented," said Martha Mitchell Meade with the AAA Mid-Atlantic travel group. "So common sense tells us that there are going to be some people, who want to see the event, who can't get there because the numbers are just so huge."
Beginning at 3 a.m. Tuesday, personal vehicles will not be allowed to enter Washington from Virginia. Police cars and electronic signs will mark the closure of I-95, Interstate 66 and the Dulles Toll Road into Washington at the Capital Beltway.
Only authorized vehicles -- emergency vehicles, buses, taxis and for-hire limos and car services -- will be able to drive north on Interstate 395 and east on I-66 inside the Beltway, which is Interstate 495. All other traffic heading to Washington on I-95 and I-66 will be diverted to the Beltway.
"We're going to do everything we can to keep things moving smoothly," Pickett said.
State police reported light to normal traffic conditions along the Interstate 95 corridor Monday afternoon from Richmond to Washington.
Contact Peter Bacqué at (804) 649-6813 or pbacque@timesdispatch.com.
Staff writer Mark Bowes contributed to this report.
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