Inaugural traffic backups likely to extend south to Richmond

-- Washington's solution to traffic on Inauguration Day is likely to mean major highway backups and scrambling for parking as far south as Richmond.

The decision to close the bridges from Virginia into the District of Columbia and two critical stretches of interstate highway caused some localities and mass-transit providers to brace yesterday for heavy traffic and possible problems at key rail stations.

"It's going to be a mess," said John M. Lewis Jr., president and chief executive officer of GRTC Transit System. "[Interstate] 95 will be backed up to Richmond."

GRTC plans to run two buses to Fredericksburg early Jan. 20 and two on the way back that afternoon to connect passengers with the Virginia Rail Express commuter service in Northern Virginia.

"If the traffic is as bad as it seems it could be, that could be an issue for us," Lewis said of the VRE service.

VRE's Inauguration Day trains were about 50 percent booked yesterday, but that was expected to change as visitors realize that they cannot drive personal vehicles beyond the Capital Beltway to get close to Washington for the historic occasion.

The northbound lanes of Interstate 395 and eastbound lanes of Interstate 66 will be closed to personal vehicles from 2 a.m. on Jan. 20 until shortly after 7 p.m. Only emergency vehicles, buses, taxis and hired limousines or car services will be allowed to use those highways and the bridges crossing the Potomac River into the city.

"I think it will be a real test all the way around," said VRE spokesman Mark Roeber, who said the commuter service will coordinate train bookings with available parking in Fredericksburg and other stations on the two rail lines on which it operates.

Virginia State Police officials expect the inauguration to cause traffic congestion south on I-95, as well as on U.S. 1 and U.S. 301, which is likely to become a major route for travelers trying to avoid the Washington area.

Dealing with spillover onto secondary roads will fall primarily to localities, state police Superintendent Steven Flaherty said yesterday.

Parking could be an issue for people planning to drive to Northern Virginia and take a bus or train into the city. The region has about 14,700 park-and-ride parking spaces in the I-95 and I-66 corridors, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

On a normal day, as many as 1.4 million vehicles travel on those two roads in Northern Virginia. But federal offices will be closed that day.

"We're trying to finalize which specific lots are going to be available for people to catch transit," said Jennifer Pickett with the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, which is coordinating public-transit plans for the inauguration.

Updated public transit information for the inauguration should be put online Monday, she said.

VDOT will have wreckers and safety service patrols on the highways; set up more electronic roadside message boards; have additional crews available to help; and put more portable restrooms in rest areas on I-95 and I-66, spokesman Jeff Caldwell said.

Public-safety officials in Hanover County and Ashland are expecting the biggest surge in traffic on Jan. 21, when travelers leave the Washington area. "Wednesday we're going to be slammed," Hanover Fire Battalion Chief William Jones said.

Ashland police also expect a crush of traffic on I-95 and U.S. 1 before and after the inauguration. The town's estimated 900 motel rooms are booked, as many travelers plan to travel to and from the event on Amtrak, which also is booked on Inauguration Day.

Parking could be an issue around the train stations in Ashland and on Staples Mill Road in Henrico County. Police and local bus companies are working on a possible shuttle service between the Henrico depot and a park-and-ride lot.

Henrico Police Capt. Humberto Cardounel expressed surprise about the plan to close bridges and highways into Washington.

His suggestion? "Don't go north."

Contact Michael Martz at (804) 649-6964 or .

Staff writer Peter Bacqué contributed to this report.