Pope's Visit, Football Game Could Be Hell On Earth for Traffic

Say a prayer for drivers next week.

You could witness perhaps the worst traffic jam of your lives when Pope Francis comes to the New York-New-Jersey-Philadelphia area.

And when Francis lands on Sept. 22, the Traffic Operations Center for the state Department of Transportation will be open 24 hours, assisted by the State Police, New Jersey Transit and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, DOT officials said.

Steve Shapiro, a spokesman for the DOT, said there could be an additional 50,000 additional cars on the roads when the Pope comes, and when New York Giants play the Washington Redskins at the MetLife Stadium in North Jersey on Thursday, Sept. 24.

The New York Yankees also have a home series at Yankee Stadium from Sept. 24 through the 27th. The Pope will then visit Philadelphia on Saturday, Sept. 26 and Sunday, Sept. 27.

The various authorities will be careful to manage traffic that could turn entire roadways - such as Route 1, the New Jersey Turnpike and others - into parking lots.

“If we have alternate roads, we will make to make sure that we will direct traffic appropriately,” he said. “We have alternate roads that can handle the size of traffic.”

The Department of Transportation is running radio ads, encouraging people to use public transit or to watch it on T.V. “We are advising people to avoid unnecessary travel,” Shapiro said.

A Web site, popenj.com, also has been set up to help guide travelers.

Sal Cowan, the director of traffic operations at the state DOT, told The New Yorker that “if it were me, I’d watch it on TV, where the view is better.”

He added:

“These people are pilgrims, and God bless ’em for trying. Still, at a certain point, you just go, ‘If you’re in a car, there’s only so close I can get you.’ ”

Pope Francis will be visiting New York City on Sept. 24 and 25, including a Papal Mass at Madison Square Garden. New Jersey Transit announced service details Monday afternoon as well as tips for the best ways to travel during the weekend.

Additional rail service during off-peak hours into Penn Station and enhanced bus service into the Port Authority Bus Terminal throughout the day, New Jersey Transit said.

Football “Game Day” rail service will run on Thursday and Sunday for the New York Giants and New York Jets home games, respectively.

Also:

• With tens of thousands expected to walk, I-676 westbound from Exit 3 to the Ben Franklin Bridge and Route 30 westbound from Airport Circle to the Philadelphia-bound bridge will be closed, as well as the span itself, from 10 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25 until noon the following Monday, according to philly.com.
• NJ Transit will offer limited special service on its Atlantic City Rail Line and River Line for people attending. The service is limited in order to keep crowd numbers consistent with the maximum capacity that will be available.
• The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office is taking the lead as “incident command,” according to nj.com, but the Secret Service has been tasked with protecting the Pope, with help from the FBI and New Jersey State Police. Partnerships have also extended to Burlington, Gloucester and Salem counties in planning for emergency situations that could occur.
• Camden County police have been coordinating with The World Meeting of Families to accommodate for bus parking along the Delaware River waterfront. There will be enough space for approximately 1,100 buses, according to the nj.com report, but officials are not anticipating Camden providing a parking lot at this point.