The Inauguration of Barack Obama is expected to draw immense crowds into the District of Columbia to watch the historic event. Here’s our guide to traveling in and around the District on Inauguration Day and why it might be better to stay at home.

Throngs of people will be taking to the streets today to witness the inauguration first hand. In addition, there are road closures and additional security that will make traveling into DC more challenging.

Most, if not all, of the bridges into DC have been shut down wince 2 a.m. and will not re-open until after 7 p.m. The 14th Street Bridge, Roosevelt Bridge, Memorial Bridge, Key Bridge and Chain Bridge are all restricted to mass transit and pedestrian traffic where applicable.

This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of road closures. Both main arteries into DC, Routes 66 and 395 are shut down except for mass transit in addition to dozens of other routes in the city.

In addition to the list of road closures in the District, WTOP has also compiled a map of the road closures around the area. It looks as though an angry English teacher got his hands on the city with a red pen.

All of these road closures also mean increased traffic from commuters re-routed to the Capitol Beltway around DC. Washington area traffic is already among the worst in the Nation, so it would be wise to avoid driving around the city today if at all possible.

If you have to drive, check out traffic along your route to plan for congestion. Trafficland.com has streaming traffic cameras throughout DC so that you can keep an eye on your route before leaving.

Since there’s no way to drive into DC, the Metro system is likely to be your best bet for getting into the city today. The WMATA is testing longer cars to help expedite trips in and out of the city.

Plan your starting point carefully, as some stations are closed for non-transit parking today to make room for buses. Those stations are Greenbelt, Morgan Boulevard, Van Dorn Street and Minnesota Avenue Metrorail stations. You also won’t be able to pay for parking using the Metro’s SmartCard system, so bring four dollars in cash so that you can pay for parking.

If all this sounds like too much hassle, you can always skip the packed Metro cars and freezing cold and experience the inauguration from the comfort of your home or office. To do so, check out our guide to experiencing the Inauguration from your desk.

Related:

Entry was posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 9:45 am under Internet, Online video, Technology.

Read more entries by Dave Jeyes.
Stumble It!