Inauguration

Inauguration

From Page A1

they do for snow removal.

“Well be here to help with any traffic management issues,” said Lillard, and they will be monitoring traffic in case it backs up through Rappahannock County.

The swearing-in ceremony is set for noon on Tuesday, Jan. 20 at the U. S. Capitol, followed by a parade that will run from Third Street up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. That will be followed by more than a dozen official balls and galas, plus up to 50 more unofficial ones throughout the region.

Officials closer in to Washington, D.C., like Patrick Collins, emergency services coordinator for Prince William County, recommend that residents treat the event like a snowstorm. That is, everyone should keep three days of food, water and supplies in their houses, in case they can’t get out.

That’s mostly because of the traffic restrictions and the sheer number of cars expected on the roads.

If two million people all try to get into the District at the same time, it will create a 20mile backup from D.C. out on Interstate 95 and Interstate 66, Collins said.

If the crowd is 2.5 million, that extends the 1-66 backup all the way out to Interstate 81 and the 1-95 backup to Richmond.

The good news is, if it’s a smaller crowd of 1 to 1.5 million, traffic won’t be much worse than the regular morning rush hour.

This may all be worth it to some. Kevin Kraditor and Sherry Fickel plan to close their Sperryville bed & breakfast - the Hopkins Ordinary - for three days so they can go to the Inauguration, staying with friends on Capitol Hill.

Asked what she thought of the potential crowds and logistical challenges, Fickel said, “I think people are going to have a great attitude and celebrate change.”

She also said that they “won’t be drinking much coffee on Tuesday morning.”

Thom Pellikaan, who now lives on Red Oak Mountain, has been to every Inauguration since Lyndon Baines Johnson when, as a young coordinator on the Escort Committee