Avoid the Wilson Bridge this morning. All the lanes are open, but lots of drivers are gawking at the setup for today's dedication ceremony on the new span.

Camera views show very heavy traffic on both sides of the Beltway leading up to the bridge. Once drivers get past the bridge, traffic is fine. (Our traffic page includes camera views and incident reports.)

The ceremony, dedicating the second span of the bridge, is scheduled for late this morning. Drivers on the already-opened span, which right now carries all of the Beltway traffic, won't be able to see the ceremony. They're looking at a bunch of tents, chairs and TV trucks.

While the dedication ceremony is today, the new span won't open till the end of the month. There are no changes in traffic patterns today, just rubbernecking congestion.

The dedication ceremony for the first new span also occured on a Thursday in May, back in 2006. That was a bit more spectacular, involving the raising and lowering of the drawbridge.

If you're not at the bridge today, here's what you're missing, besides a traffic jam: A high school band from Maryland and choir from Virginia will perform, Woodrow Wilson's Pierce-Arrow will be the first vehicle to cross the new span, Sen. John W. Warner will turn the bridge's final bolt into place and the D.C. Air National Guard will fly over the river.

Looking out into the audience at the Prince William County government center last night, Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said he thought he saw some of the same people who attended his town hall meeting on transportation shortly after he was elected.

Back then, with four sessions of the General Assembly ahead of him, he was seeking ideas on how to bust some of the worst traffic congestion in the nation. After several rushes at that goal, he was back last night for what has become the political equivalent of a Hail Mary pass late in the game.

Comments from the crowd of about 200 in Woodbridge illustrated his problem: Many people struggle with traffic congestion so bad it diminishes their enjoyment of what otherwise would be a pretty good life in Northern Virginia. And many people wouldn't pay to make it better.

In explaining his plan to restore money for transportation spending through tax increases, Kaine said Virginia ranked fifth among states in personal income and 39th in taxes as a percentage of income.

That sounds pretty good, one county resident pointed out: "I like being fifth and 39th."

Hard to argue that one. Others, knowing the proposal includes not only some statewide taxes but also a 1 percent sales tax increase for Northern Virginia, noted that people from outside the region use its roads but don't have to pay the taxes.

A driver from Richmond or North Carolina could come on up and use Route 123 or Route 7 and wouldn't pay the regional sales tax.

Kaine noted that the best way to capture some of that outside revenue would be to increase the state's tax on gasoline. Not a bad idea as a transportation policy, he said, but untenable as a political matter. People see gas as "one of the necessities of life," he said, and would view a gas tax increase as equivalent to a new tax on food or medicine.

After months of relatively light activity because of cool temperatures, we're beginning to see roadway paving pick up. Here's one such sign of the season:

The Maryland State Highway Administration plans to begin a $1.3 million paving project tonight along Route 32 in the Clarksville area of Howard County.

The work, scheduled to be completed by the end of June, will be done along two and a half miles of Route 32 between West Linden Church Road and Clarksville Pike.

Watch for single-lane closures between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m., Sunday through Thursday nights. Watch for the construction workers, too. Route 32 in this area is used by more than 29,000 vehicles a day, the SHA says, and it points out that headlight use is mandatory in this area.

If you have any questions about traffic operations along Route 32 or other state routes in Howard County, you can call SHA's District 7 Office at 301-624-8100 or toll free at 800-635-5119.

The anguished cries of Radiohead fans bounced around the Internet yesterday as many bemoaned the difficulties of reaching and leaving remote Nissan Pavilion in Bristow for the band's Sunday night concert.

The severe rainstorm had a lot to do with it, but Mother Nature did not place an ampitheater for 25,000 people in the outer suburbs of Washington where the road network was inadequate and public transportation non-existent.

Here's how one concert-goer described the Sunday night scene to Post reporters Lena Sun and Eric Weiss during their online discussion Monday:

Fairfax, Va.: Wow, I will NEVER complain about Metro after an event again, compared to my Nissan Pavilion experience last night. We were in our car at 11 p.m. and did not get on the interstate until 1 a.m. It seemed like they routed everyone in circles getting out of there. Now I was planning for at least an hour to get to the interstate based on my experience last summer. But last night was disaster. Who on earth designed the traffic flows around there.

Buzz abounded on DCist, as well, where fans described their soggy, sorry journeys in excruciating detail, with some saying they never made it in.

When the pavilion was planned, back in the '90s, many people saw this coming. Unfortunately, not enough of them were in Prince William County government.

Post reporter Stephen C. Fehr quoted one pavilion critic in a story that ran on the April 16, 1995, front page under the headline "Traffic Jams Predicted at New Arena":

"This is the way local governments get into long-term transportation problems," [land use consultant Edward M.] Risse said. "They create land uses that are major generators of traffic and then spend 20 years trying to accommodate that demand."

The final letter in my May 4 column was from a driver worried about jaywalkers, and it proved to be a hot topic among drivers and pedestrians.

Included in the many responses was this defense of jaywalking, and I wanted to know what you thought.

Dear Dr. Gridlock:
Philip Lalka of Wheaton suggested in his letter that police should step up efforts to ticket pedestrians who fail to use crosswalks.

As someone who routinely jaywalks, I feel I have to respond. I think the public would be better served if police increased efforts to ticket the drivers who force me and others to cross streets illegally.

I have never come close to being hit by a vehicle while jaywalking. I have however, had several close calls while using properly designated cross walks. Drivers often run red lights, turn right on red without stopping, even at intersections where it clearly says "no turn on red."

Several drivers have even blared their horns at me while I am in the cross walk with the "walk" sign still on. I feel it is safer and others I have talked to feel the same way, to jaywalk rather than use the crosswalks.

Of course, one must be alert and use caution. I'll admit the practice has some risk to it but I am willing to assume that risk. I think the people who jaywalk are so used to doing it that even if we were ticketed, I don't think we would stop.
David Bancroft
Olney

I'm planning to do several more columns about pedestrian safety, because of its importance to readers. If you'd like to send in something for the column, you can reach me at drgridlock@washpost.com, but as always, feel free to comment here on the blog.

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine today called for a special session of the General Assembly on June 23 to consider his plan to restore the revenue taken away by a court decision earlier this year.

It also would restore the spending power of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. The authority's sources of revenue -- money that was going to be spent on road and transit projects across the region -- vanished with the court decision.

Kaine says his fix would raise over $1 billion annually throughout Virginia by fiscal year 2012 without increasing the gas tax.

You can read the details of Kaine's plan in this statement from the governor's office.

Kaine's plan not only raises money statewide but also includes taxes specific to the most congested areas, Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

The most prominent feature for Northern Virginians is a one percent increase in the sales tax, except for purchases of food or drugs. That money would go to the transportation authority, which had picked out a list of much-needed projects to invest in.

Unfortunately, the authority has spent much of this year explaining how people can get their tax money back after the court struck down the original sources of revenue that would have financed the projects. The authority still exists, but has little impact without money to spend.

Now it will be up to the General Assembly to get this important program back on track.

Kaine will be hosting a town hall meeting in Woodbridge on Tuesday night to discuss his plan. This session is scheduled for 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo Building Auditorium, 15941 Donald Curtis Drive.

What's your reaction to the Kaine plan?

Many of the weather-related problems on the roads are spotted on our traffic map. But drivers in Prince William County will have to deal with one such problem for days to come:

All four lanes of Dale Boulevard west of Mapledale Avenue are closed because the roadway has washed, the Virginia Department of Transportation reports. The is about four miles from the Dale Boulevard/I-95 interchange. The washout, at about 4 o'clock this morning, left a 20-foot deep by 25-foot wide hole.

Police blocked the boulevard at Mapledale Avenue and Nassau Drive. The road is likely to remain closed for at least a week to let the area dry, figure out the cause of the problem and fix it.

Detour: Heading west on Dale, take Ridgefield Road to the Prince William Parkway to Hoadly Road back to Dale. Heading east on Dale, take Hoadly Road to Prince William Parkway to Ridgefield Road back to Dale.

While the Dulles rail project has gained the most attention lately, one of the region's other transit projects, the Purple Line in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, keeps chugging through its study phase.

The Maryland Transit Administration, also in charge of MARC, Baltimore's light rail and the commuter buses among other things, is holding another series of open houses to discuss the Purple Line. Three of the sessions are this week.

The schedule:
-- Today at West Lanham Hills Recreation Center, 7700 Decatur Road, Landover Hills;
-- Wednesday at East Silver Spring Elementary School, 631 Silver Spring Ave., Silver Spring;
-- Thursday at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School cafeteria, 4301 East-West Highway, Bethesda.

All are from 5 to 8 p.m.

You'll see some new, bigger numbers on potential ridership and some new estimates on travel times along the line, which still could be either a light rail or a rapid bus system. (To me, light rail makes the most sense. You can read the case for that on the Web site of Purple Line NOW!, an advocacy group for the project.)

All the lanes on New York Avenue NE have reopened, the District Department of Transportation announced late this afternoon.

Crews have completed repairs to the slope failure that began on Friday and the three lanes in the 1100 and 1200 blocks of the avenue are back in business.

The main events this weekend are the projects at the Wilson Bridge and on Metro's Green and Yellow lines at Mount Vernon Square. Both are likely to cause delays. But watch out also for the emergency storm sewer repair on New York Avenue NE.

Metro Weekend Delays
The switch replacement project at Mount Vernon Square, which will cause delays on the Green and Yellow lines, began at 11 p.m. Friday and continues through Sunday night. After this, the project has three more weekends to go: May 16-18, May 30-June 1 and June 6-8. (It's always Friday night through Sunday night.)

Wilson Bridge
The word has gone out up and down the East Coast about the construction work and resulting delays likely to occur this weekend, from Friday night through Sunday. (There was some concern about the weather, but that's looking better and the plan is a go.)

Read the details here, but these are the highlights:
-- The Capital Beltway's outer loop is temporarily reduced to one lane between the Springfield Interchange and the bridge. [11 a.m. Saturday: Outer loop traffic jams up as it reaches the Eisenhower Connector and enters the area of lane reductions. Stay away from there. Check the current situation on our traffic page.]
-- The Springfield Interchange ramp from northbound I-95 North to the outer loop was closed temporarily early Saturday.
-- The best strategy is to avoid the area this weekend, but if you're trying to get around Washington, go west on the Beltway at Springfield, take the American Legion Bridge across the Potomac and rejoin I-95 after about the same number of miles you'd have driven via the Wilson Bridge route.

Here's a map showing the work zone.

New York Avenue Lanes Blocked
Two inbound lanes on New York Avenue NE between Fairview Avenue and the 9th Street-Brentwood Parkway ramp are closed because of a broken storm sewer. The District Department of Transportation expects the lanes will be closed through the weekend.

Bike to Work Day
If you've been tempted to try biking to work, next Friday, May 16, is your day to take a test drive. You'll be able to join thousands of others participating in Bike to Work Day. Riders will be gathering at 26 pit stops across the region The gathering times vary, but most spots open at 6:30 a.m. Riders can participate in commuter convoys that wind up at Freedom Plaza in downtown Washington.

More information and registration details are available from the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, at www.waba.org, or 202-518-0524.

I-95 Widening
Watch for midday single-lane closures Monday through Thursday between Exit 166 (Fairfax County Parkway) and Exit 160 (Route 123) as part of the Interstate 95 widening project.

Virginia Governor's Forum
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) plans to hold a town hall meeting in Woodbridge at 7 p.m. Tuesday to discuss plans for a special legislative session on financing transportation improvements. The governor's office says it will soon schedule another session in Loudoun County. The Woodbridge meeting is at the Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo Building, 15941 Donald Curtis Dr.

Langley Park Crossroads
The left lane is closed in both directions on New Hampshire Avenue at University Boulevard from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. That work zone gets very congested and is best avoided unless you have business in the area.