How to Reach and See the Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2009

This year marks a significant event in the history of the United States, the taking of office of the first African-American President of the United States. This remarkable event will take place on January 20, 2009, Inauguration Day. Many people from the world over, especially citizens of the United States, are looking forward to being part of this historical celebration in downtown Washington, DC. This means the area will be congested with unbelievable amounts of vehicle, train and foot traffic. Between one and five million people are expected for the event. So how can you get there to be part of the celebration? This article will help show you how.

The Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2009 is going to be held in Washington, DC. The swearing in ceremony will take place in the morning on the grounds of the US Capitol. The gates will open at 8 am, and the music starts playing at 10 am. Both the President Elect Barack Obama and Vice-President Elect Joseph Biden will be sworn into office. This will include the Inaugural Address. There will then be a departure ceremony for President Bush. The Inaugural Parade will then begin, followed by ten different Inaugural Balls throughout the day. This means that congestion will begin early in the morning and last the whole day.

1. Stay over the night before and the night after the celebration. Because of the amount of traffic and road closings on Presidential Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009, it is going to be next to impossible to travel in and out of Washington, DC that day. It will be incredibly difficult to get into the city in the morning, and a nightmare leaving that evening. Your best bet is to stay overnight in accommodations in the city, especially ones that are within walking distance of the Inaugural Event. Even though the cost of the accommodations will be very high, it will be worth it not to miss the event in traffic or to deal with trying to exit and being stuck in hours of traffic.

If you do not already have accommodations, you may have trouble getting them at this point. If you find somewhere to stay, it will be very expensive. At this late date, your best option is to find someone who already has a room, who will allow you to share the room in return for splitting costs. Or, find someone who lives in the area to rent you a room in their home.

Perhaps the best place for you to find rental accommodations in someone's home is on Craigslist. If you do a search for Inauguration housing, you should pull up many different options. Many of these were just posted. Many people will at the last minute be willing to give up their homes in exchange for a sum of cash for one or two evenings so that you can see the event.

2. Learn about the road closings. The best way to do this is to visit the WTOP website, radio station 103.5 in the Washington, DC area. They have on their website all of the information on road closings on the day of the Presidential Inauguration Event. Additionally, you can pull up a map of the road closures and the path of the Inaugural Parade.

There will be many bridge closings, tunnel closings and freeway closings. As for bridges, Memorial Bridge will be closed, the Chain Bridge will closed, South Capitol Street Bridge will be closed, the 14th Street Bridge will be closed and the 11th Street Bridge will be closed. The 3rd Street Tunnel will be closed, and Southeast/Southwest Freeway will be closed.

What is meant by these roads being closed is that regular automobiles will not be allowed access. Certain buses and authorized vehicles will be allowed. Taxis and buses may use some of these routes.

3. Don't plan on driving a car into the city for the Presidential Inauguration. If you think you might be able to drive, think again. The road closings and congestion will make it take hours upon hours for cars to get anywhere near the event. And then, parking will be a nightmare. If you still want to try, take routes that don't require you using any of the closed roads to get in. You should become very familiar by map with the routes into the city and learn ahead of time which way to go.

4. Prepare in advance for bus, taxi and train travel. If you plan to ride a taxi into the city, or to take a bus or the metro, this isn't going to be easier. You will share this decision with vast amounts of other people who have the same plan. The phones are going to be off the hook to taxis and buses and metros will be crowded beyond their limits. Call the taxi company and see if you can line something up in advance, such as prepaying for a cab or limo service for a specific time. Give yourself many extra hours to arrive, so that no matter how bad the traffic is, you still make it in time.

As for the bus and metro, you need tickets in advance. Many of the options have already sold out. Go very early and plan to stay very late. There was an option to purchase a Commemorative Smart Trip card for the day of the event, but this option is no longer available. You can still purchase regular metro and bus tickets.

5. Don't wait until the last minute. You need to give yourself time to deal with the traffic. This way, you won't get so stressed out and you'll make it in time for the events.

6. Prepare yourself for entrance into the events. You need tickets for the Inauguration Events, so make sure you have them. Ebay has agreed not to sell Inauguration Tickets, so you won't be able to get outrageously priced tickets there. You also need to find out what is allowed into the events. Don't be silly and bring something like beer or glass. The easiest thing to do is to bring only what you need in your coat pockets, since all bags will be searched. Bring your license and some cash and a credit card, some gum/mints and layers of clothes to keep warm. Leave the rest at home. You won't have all the comforts you might desire, but you won't end up facing issues with security when you try to bring in a huge bag filled with all kinds of restricted items that you didn't realize you couldn't bring.

7. Here are different links you may need:

Website for the Presidential Inauguration: http://www.presidential-inauguration.com/

PIC Website with the Inauguration Schedule: http://www.pic2009.org/pages/schedule

WTOP Website: http://www.wtop.com/?nid=780

Map of Road Closures: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100000666902257773673.00045fd51cf352b39888b&start=0&num=200&ll=38.89277,-77.058878&spn=0.029461,0.054932&z=14

WMATA Website to Purchase Metro Tickets for the Event: http://www.wmata.com/fares/purchase/store/

Craigslist Search for Inauguration Housing: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/search/hhh?query=inauguration