Some major roadways, including northbound Massachusetts Avenue, will be closed for three days around the first visit to the United States by Pope Francis. An open-air Mass will send tens of thousands flooding into an area around Catholic University, with no way for the crowds to disperse quickly. And a popemobile parade around the Ellipse as well as Jumbotrons set up for public viewing of the parade will make parts of the Mall all but impassable over parts of two days.
“We want to have a lot of activity downtown, but on the traffic side, if you have to use a vehicle . . . you will really need to plan ahead,” said Leif Dormsjo, the District’s director of transportation. “These road closures will be long in duration and they will impact some significant arterial streets.”
With the District weeks behind New York and Philadelphia in announcing details of its leg of the pope’s U.S. visit, Bowser (D) and James M. Murray, the special agent in charge of coordinating the visit for the U.S. Secret Service, confidently predicted that with help from residents, Washington will be ready for crowds of whatever size that descend on the nation’s capital starting Sept. 22.
