Prepare for D.C. Traffic Nightmare This Weekend

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JUST IN CASE you haven't heard what just about every news outlet in Washington is reporting, a confluence of big events this weekend will make parts of D.C. feel like the 10th circle of hell for the crowd-averse.

Tomorrow is the first day of the Cherry Blossom Festival (although the tourists have already started seeping into town) and the National Marathon, while Sunday is the day that Nationals Park opens to the delight of baseball fans.

Traffic and parking will be nutty. Frustrating. Tear-your-hair-out, gouge-your-eyeballs horrendous. You were warned. But many of you will head into town anyway, gluttons for punishment that you are.

So here's the advice that Karyn LeBlanc, spokeswoman for the District's Department of Transportation, gave The Post's Eric M. Weiss: "Take Metro, take Metro, take Metro." Don't try to drive. Don't try to park.

Metro, for its part, will be opening at 5 a.m. Saturday for the benefit of marathon-goers, although the run will result in detours for a whopping 41 Metrobus routes in the city. (Get more information on which routes are going where from Metro's Web site.)

The transit agency has suspended all that pesky track work that's snarled service on weekends this year, and it said earlier this week that it's prepared to deploy eight-car trains on Saturdays and Sundays if demand warrants.

If your travels take you into the city this weekend, you'll want to consult this list of tips from Weiss and Robert Thomson, aka The Post's Dr. Gridlock.

Good luck.

» "Travel Tips for a Busy Weekend -- and Beyond" [WaPo]

Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post