Local and state governments will pour more than $20 million into transportation costs to accommodate the expected onslaught of inaugural revelers, and cash-strapped agencies are wondering where the money will come from.
Virginia alone will pay $10.6 million to cover everything from overtime wages to extra buses to shuttle pedestrians across closed bridges and to and from the Metro. Maryland has estimated $4.8 million for transportation costs, and D.C. expects to pay $2 million. In addition, the three jurisdictions could bear $3.5 million in extra Metro costs.
As of December, the District faces a budget deficit of $127 million. Maryland faces a possible $1.2 billion deficit, and the Virginia locales considered part of the National Capital Region face budget shortfalls of up to $50 million each.
Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith said her agency has not received federal reimbursements for past inaugurations, but by all estimates, Barack Obama’s festivities will see unprecedented ridership — and costs.
“We’ve never put this level of service into an inauguration before — that’s why we’ll need the extra money,” Smith said.
Maryland, Virginia and D.C. estimates — and a plea for federal help — were laid out in a Jan. 5 letter to respective congressional representatives from Mayor Adrian Fenty and Govs. Tim Kaine and Martin O’Malley.
The letter cites the possibility of 300,000 airplane passengers arriving at Dulles International and Reagan National airports, as well as a 16 percent increase in incoming passengers at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
The Jan. 18 opening ceremony alone, the letter states, will likely attract half a million people. Obama’s swearing-in on Jan. 20 “is likely to exceed 2 million.”
“Especially in light of the severe fiscal restraints that we are facing,” the letter said, “we are asking you to work with your [congressional] colleagues to secure the additional resources.”
But even as officials pull their hair out trying to coordinate and pay for the crowds’ comings and goings, some say they should appreciate the setup they’ve got.
“The beauty of D.C. is that streets are relatively small and easy to cross, making it friendly to pedestrians,” said Siim Soot, interim director of the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “And besides, walking is … healthy.”
