Can I make it back to NYC post-inauguration, pre-Wednesday morning?

January 9, 2009 1:29 PM

Inauguration question: with all the road and bridge closures on January 20, will we be able to get out of Washington DC area and back to NYC?

I'm flying into NYC from San Francisco, hitching a ride with a friend down the the inauguration in DC (we even managed to get tickets!). We should have no problem getting there, as we are arriving on the 18, but will we be able to leave the area late night on the 20th?

This article says that many roads and bridges will be closed until rush hour Wednesday morning, but my friend has to be back to work in NYC at that time, so we were going to leave super late on the 20th.

I've checked the Secret Service web site and found this:
http://www.secretservice.gov/press/GPA01-09InaugMap.pdf

but I am super unfamiliar with the roads in the area, so am looking to Mefi for some reassurance that we will be able to make it home!

thanks in advance folks!

posted by ethel to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (4 answers total)

You'll be going north, but the bridges that are closing only affect those heading south.

Not that you won't have issues with traffic and with getting into and out of downtown (via Metro, I assume, unless you're staying within walking distance of the Mall), but you shouldn't have to worry about the bridges.
posted by arco at 1:34 PM on January 9, 2009

Depends on where you're staying exactly, but check out the dc inauguration site, specifically the closures page:

(a) It looks like most road closures end (at the latest) at 7pm on the 20th.
(b) I don't believe NY Avenue (AKA Rt 50) is closed at all, so (again, depending on where you're staying) you should be able to get there, and follow it to 295 to 95.
posted by inigo2 at 1:36 PM on January 9, 2009

Oh, and don't forget about the MeFi meetup.

(Hey, breaking news: the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum will be closed on the 20th, so if you're planning on using us as a bathroom stop you're S.O.L. Hey that was kinda funny! Not really, though.)
posted by arco at 1:37 PM on January 9, 2009

If you're staying in NW DC, park north of Dupont and exit out the north of the city (ie straight up CT Ave or 16th street, through MD, to 95N). The Secret Service map is good, but this one from the Washington Post shows a little more detail outside the immediate security areas, such as where all 10,000 tour buses will be doing pick-ups and parking that evening... which you'll want to avoid, methinks.
posted by nkknkk at 2:35 PM on January 9, 2009