WASHINGTON: In recent weeks, Virginians have puzzled over the decision by the US Secret Service and other inaugural officials to prohibit personal vehicles from all bridges spanning the Potomac River into the District of Columbia.
Are the closures supposed to inhibit attendance at inaugural events? Are the restrictions an unsubtle reminder to Virginia - the one-time capital of the Confederacy - that a century and a half of Civil War tensions still persist?
In truth, the reason for the traffic prohibitions is a far more practical, yet no less sinister: security planners see the bridges as the best means to evacuate the District of Columbia should the city come under attack during the event.
The decision to limit bridge traffic to pedestrians was revealed last week in a US intelligence assessment that determined the "high visibility of the event, the presence of dignitaries and the significance of swearing in the country's first black president make the inauguration vulnerable to attacks."
What particularly concerned analysts who prepared the report were "the potential use of improvised explosive devices, a hostage situation or suicide bombers."
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff earlier said that security concerns during inaugurations have been elevated since the 2001 terror attacks.
"I think it will be the most security, as far as I'm aware, that any inauguration has had," he said, quickly adding that there is no specific intelligence pointing to terrorist plots during the Jan. 20 event.
"We have scrubbed very hard to look at anything that would suggest a credible, imminent threat or one that was specifically focused on the inauguration," Chertoff said. "We're not, at this point, aware of a credible, specific, imminent threat that would affect the inauguration."
According to last week's security assessment, a so-called "lone wolf" poses the biggest risk to inaugural activities because criminals such as these are unaffiliated with an organization and are not acting in coordination with a group.
With so many restrictions on vehicular traffic into Washington and near inaugural venues, the local mass transit system - collectively referred to as the "Metro" - will be essential to moving the throngs of visitors, now estimated to exceed two million people.
However, what happens if train and bus operators are stuck in the same gridlock on their way to work?
"It's a concern of ours," said Sara Wilson, the Metro's liaison to inaugural planners.
"If you and I don't get to work, it's not a big deal. But if a train or bus operator doesn't get to work, there's thousands of people that may be delayed or may not get to the place they need to get to."
With the Secret Service inhibiting so much access to the city and to many areas in downtown D.C., the Metro is working on a plan to get its employees in the right position.
"We are hopeful that the closings will have a minimal effect in the morning (of the inauguration), but our concern is for the afternoon - folks may be stuck in the same amount of traffic that everybody else is on the Beltway and other places," Wilson said.
