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Traffic Tie-Ups, Disruptions Expected During Visit
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In addition to people with tickets for various events, thousands are expected to line the streets in hopes of glimpsing the pope in his motorcades and receiving a blessing.
The Mass, especially, will draw out-of-towners. The Washington Archdiocese distributed 45,000 tickets for the Mass, of which 14,000 were sent to other dioceses.
Metro is urging participants to buy a commemorative one-day Mass Pass for $9 to avoid congestion at Farecard machines. Unlike a regular one-day pass, the Mass Pass can be used before 9:30 a.m. People parking at Metro lots will need a SmarTrip card to pay for parking.
Metro's largest ridership was 850,636 for Reagan's funeral in June 2004. The day of the pope's Mass "has that type of potential," Farbstein said.
Worshipers for the Mass must be in their seats by 8:30 a.m. Unlike at ballgames, when fans tend to trickle in and leave at different times, "nobody is going to trickle out in the middle of the pope's Mass," Farbstein said. "There's more likely to be a bigger crush afterward."
Wednesday is a holiday for D.C. schools and government, which will be closed. It is Emancipation Day, which marks the freeing of slaves in the District.
Rolling street closures will take place as the pope travels across the city. Drivers should expect delays, officials said. Longer closures will be in effect when the pope is in one location. Several streets around Catholic University will be closed from about 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and from about 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday. Hospitals in that neighborhood will have access for emergency vehicles, officials said.
The South Capitol Street bridge will be closed between I Street and Potomac Avenue because of the Mass. Signs will be placed along the Interstate 295 corridor to alert people to the closure, and detour signs will direct motorists to the 11th Street bridges.
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