Planning to attend the inauguration? Good luck

WASHINGTON

Want to be a witness to history next month at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration?

Be prepared for one of the worst traffic jams of your life as you travel north from Hampton Roads on Interstate 95. Once you get here - if you get here - expect to stand in line for hours to get through security.

Then, unless you're one of maybe 200,000 lucky or well-connected people in a crowd that could top 2 million, or 3 million, or 5 million, depending on the source, you'll probably watch the swearing-in from a cold spot on the National Mall, a mile or more away from Obama's location at the west front of the Capitol. Your best view - your only view, really - will likely be on one of a series of giant television screens.

To get close, sort of, you'll need a ticket for admission to the Capitol grounds. Your odds of snagging one of those are slim; they're available only from members of Congress, each of whom will be allotted a few hundred, at most.

One local congressman, Bobby Scott of Newport News, started turning away ticket requests last month, after more than 10,000 people tied up his office phone and e-mail accounts. Randy Forbes of Chesapeake, with 3,000-plus requests to date, will stop taking more Saturday.

In Westmoreland County, on the Northern Neck, Rep. Rob Wittman has received about 10,000 requests to date and probably will stop taking new ones in early January, spokesman Steve Stampley said. Glenn Nye, a Norfolk Democrat elected last month but not yet sworn in, is taking ticket requests through his campaign office, (757) 273-7217.

Forbes already has announced plans for a lottery to distribute his tickets; other local lawmakers are considering lotteries or distribution on a first-come, first-served basis.

Across the Capitol, the office of Sen. Jim Webb has received more than 35,000 ticket requests, with more still coming in. Sen.-elect Mark Warner, who like Rep.-elect Nye won't take office until next month, has gotten more than 3,000 requests. Neither Webb nor Warner has announced how he'll distribute his tickets.

Officials announced last week that the entire mall will be opened for Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration. Much of the grassy expanse between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial generally is used on Inauguration Day as a staging area for the Inaugural Parade; that will be done elsewhere this time.

You won't need a ticket to get on the mall, but dress warm, and bring lots of patience.

Dale Eisman, (703) 913-9872 or dale.eisman@pilotonline.com