Getting in and out of the District of Columbia will likely be more trouble than it’s worth until after President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration with the Secret Service adding bridge closures to mounting restrictions. The Secret Service announced restrictions on seven bridges Jan. 18, with all but one restricting all access into the city.
The Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) told federal agencies to let employees explore alternative work options after 13 Metro stations were closed, and the new bridge closures will just make it harder for anyone to get in the city.
The following bridges will be affected from Jan. 19 at 6 a.m. until Jan. 21 at 6 a.m.:
- Theodore Roosevelt Bridge: no eastbound traffic into the city, westbound traffic unaffected;
- Arlington Memorial Bridge: closed;
- I-395 & 14th Street: no traffic northbound into the city, southbound lanes open;
- South Capitol Street: no traffic northbound into the city, southbound lanes open;
- 695 and 11th Street: no traffic northbound into the city, southbound lanes open;
- Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge: no traffic northbound into the city, southbound lanes open;
- And the Key Bridge will be open heading into the city but will only allow left turns.
Drivers will still be able to enter the district from the Capital Beltway on the Maryland side, and the American Legion and Wilson Bridges will remain open for traffic between Maryland and Virginia.
Secret Service, the agency in charge of the inauguration, also helped stand up the National Special Security Event Joint Information Center (NSSE JIC) virtually this year, where they will coordinate with other local and federal agencies to share information with the public.
“Initial NSSE JIC stand-up operations and staffing began on Jan. 13 to coordinate communication across the supporting entities. It will serve as the primary response center for media requesting security information,” Secret Service said in a release.
In addition, the Federal Aviation Association has banned all drones for the inauguration and designated the district as national defense airspace. A full look at all the road and bridge closures is available on the Secret Service site.
