Massive crowd to greet Obama
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 10:09 AM
by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC's Pete Williams
Security checkpoints are now closed off for the eastern end of the National Mall, the half closest to the U.S. Capitol.
It's no longer possible to enter the area east of 14th Street, which is the street that borders the Washington Monument. The National Mall East of 12th street is also closed. This is right before the Washington Monument and everything from the Washington Monument to the Capitol building is at full capacity.
A U.S. Park Service official says that the eastern half of the mall, between the Washington Monument and the Capitol, was filled to capacity by 8:30 am.
"And it's fairly densely packed," he said.
The Park Service has traditionally declined to estimate the size of the crowd, a tradition to which it clings again today.
The Mall is still open from there to the other end, at the Lincoln Memorial.
But another section is soon to be closed off and NBC's Mara Schiavocampo reports that security checking the public seems to be getting tighter as the morning goes on.
So many people are trying to get onto the Mall, along the parade route, and to the ticket areas on the Capitol, that security lines are long and daunting.
One U.S. senator said he was worried about getting through the line in time to take his seat for the swearing in. A law enforcement official said the line behind a checkpoint on the 7th Street for the parade was very long "and doesn't seem to be moving."
One bright spot is that people were on the move very early, with the Metro subway system working at capacity by 7 a.m.
NBC's Jeff Rossen reported that not only are the lines long to get in, they're also long to get out at metro stations.
Families in line said they got here at 5:30 a.m., secured a spot to watch inauguration, but underestimated how cold it was, so they're leaving before it even starts.
"Hey, at least we can say we were here," one woman said, with her shivering 5-year old daughter in tow.
*** UPDATE *** Due to overcrowding, MPD is no longer allowing pedestrian access to the Mall from the 14th Street Bridge. Access can still be gained via The Memorial Bridge (the whole bridge), and the Key Bridge (on sidewalks and paths).
Passenger hit by Metro train
METRO, which runs the Washington, D.C., subway, feared going into today that the huge crowds in the subway might result in an accident with a passenger, and that has now happened.
At about 9:25 am, a passenger waiting on the platform at the Gallery Place stop, near the Parade route, was hit by a train on the Red Line. METRO at this point does not know whether the person slipped off the platform or was pushed or jumped. The victim survived the accident. The Red Line was now stopped at the Gallery Place stop.
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