‘Bush on Board’ May Mean Misery on I-5

President Bush’s motorcade is scheduled to travel through some of Orange County’s most traffic-clogged streets at rush hour Wednesday evening as he is whisked between El Toro and Anaheim.

Bush’s schedule calls for him to travel by car between the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station and his overnight quarters at the Anaheim Hilton between 5:50 and 6:10 p.m. He will be in Orange County to attend the dedication of the Richard M. Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda on Thursday.

The possibility that the motorcade might use the always-clogged Santa Ana Freeway dismayed traffic observers.

“This is just poor planning on somebody’s part,” said KNX Radio’s traffic reporter, Dona Dower. “That’s just going to make the Santa Ana Freeway miserable.”

Even on a normal day, Dower said the traffic on that section of freeway is “generally heavy--you’re talking an average of about 30 miles per hour.”

White House officials would not reveal the exact route Bush will take, but it would appear most likely to be northbound on the Santa Ana Freeway.

Police, Caltrans, U.S. Secret Service and California Highway Patrol officials also declined to elaborate on the traffic plans. They would not say whether accommodations would be made to ease the problems or how commuters might avoid snarls. They said they were unable to comment because the information was not available and that it might jeopardize security.

But a White House official, who asked not to be identified, said the impact would be minimal because the motorcade will travel against the heaviest flow of traffic. He also said the route is routinely driven by a presidential advance team before the schedule is released.

Typically, when the president’s motorcade travels on a freeway, the route is sealed off by CHP officers several miles ahead and behind the limousines.

In a leap-frog style procession, CHP motorcycles rush in front of the motorcade and block the on-ramps until the president has passed.

Bush is scheduled to leave Orange County about 1 p.m. on Thursday, just after the morning dedication at the library. Former Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan will also attend the dedication, but their travel plans have not yet been released.