Malaysiakini -Crowds of 1m expected

WASHINGTON - SUBWAY trains are packed. Traffic is bumper-to-bumper. It seems that every dimension of President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration is taking on historic proportions as visitors stream into the city.

Thousands of charter buses from across the country were planning to arrive in the District of Columbia, packing parking lots and even streets that closed Monday night to accommodate the surge of overnight visitors and day-trippers.

'We're prepared; we're braced,' Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel said.

District of Columbia police have projected inaugural crowds between 1 million and 2 million. Planners say attendance could easily top the 1.2 million people who were at Lyndon B. Johnson's 1965 inauguration, the largest crowd the National Park Service has on record.

Already, visitors were experiencing a few headaches. Some people grumbled as they walked the streets Sunday afternoon, searching for alternatives after they could not enter a subway station near George Washington University. The station, which had become exit only, was unloading a flood of people attending a big concert at the Lincoln Memorial.

In Chinatown, there were long waits at restaurants. People packed the neighbourhood's sidewalks, dodging vendors selling hand warmers, Obama air fresheners and other inaugural products. National Guardsmen patrolled on foot, with police cruisers parked nearby.

Some were unnerved by the unprecedented security surrounding Obama's inauguration. But Ms Karen Anderson, a pastor from St Louis, said it was reassuring. She remembered being in Washington during the 1968 riots. But now, she said, there is a palpable vibrancy.

'I don't feel afraid here; I feel free,' said Ms Anderson, 53.

City and local planners have consistently warned visitors that they could expect extensive transportation delays.

On the closing list Tuesday are all inbound bridges connecting the District of Columbia and Virginia, though authorised vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists are allowed. A sizable chunk of downtown Washington will be shut down, and other sections will not permit parking. The two subway stations near the National Mall will be closed for much of the day.

For those hoping to taxi in or out of town, be warned. Some taxi drivers have decided not to work the full day - because of the closings and because they also wanted a chance to watch the inauguration.

Taxi driver Ephrem Zewdie, a native of Ethiopia, planned to work only Tuesday morning. Then, he would drive home to suburban Maryland, ride a subway train into the city and join the crowds on the Mall.

'I was following the election from the beginning,' Mr Zewdie said.

'Even though I'm not a citizen, I'm very excited.' Visitors must be extra diligent in the huge crowds to keep track of their belongings - and each other - in near-freezing temperatures.

At Union Station on Monday, social studies teacher Ashley Weaver kept an eye on her 24 students, who sat on the floor eating lunch.

They arrived on Saturday from Eagle Valley High School in Gypsum, Colorado.

'I took students four years ago to the inauguration, and it was nothing like this,' said Ms Weaver, 27. 'There's a huge mass of people.' -- AP