Inaugural Exodus

The following is a special message for all you clever types who, for whatever reason, are getting out of Dodge and planning to enjoy the inaugural festivities in some exotic, stress-free locale, fruity drink in hand:

Don't come back.

Not yet, that is. Not for at least a few days. This proclamation comes not from us but from John Townsend of AAA Mid-Atlantic, who says that "the region will become a collectivity of roads to nowhere."

He adds, "We know that the Potomac River bridge restrictions are in effect from 2 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Inauguration Day. That means, if you are leaving town, you should do it by noon Monday. Although it is a federal holiday, many of the non-government offices in the vehicle-restricted area -- a huge swath -- will probably start closing around noon until about 3. That's when you will have the first major exodus."

But what about coming home? "Don't come back until around noon on Wednesday at the earliest," Townsend stressed. The thinking, as of now, is that Washington will return to some semblance of normality by then. (And if it hasn't, the rest of us will likely begin planning our own exoduses.)

And Townsend had one more piece of driving havoc to remind us about: "Keep in mind that the plurality of people coming to the inauguration... won't know how to navigate this mess."

By Christina Talcott |  January 16, 2009; 4:05 PM ET  | Category:  In the News , Insta-CoGo , Mid-Atlantic Destinations , Travel Logistics , Travel Strategies , Travel Survival Tips
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Posted by: rja112 | January 19, 2009 4:17 AM

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