hatever route drivers take into Boston today, they'll be taking their chances when they get here. It's Presidential Debate day.
The candidates, Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush, arrive at about midday. The debate at the University of Massachusetts at Boston starts at 9 p.m.
In between, any drivers caught between Logan and downtown Boston or Dorchester may find themselves stopped at least momentarily, as the VIPs whiz by in motorcades.
Gore and Bush will be accompanied by Secret Service, State Police, and others with authority to close off streets and cause instant, perhaps sustained, gridlock.
Morrissey Boulevard, which provides access to UMass-Boston, will most likely be a major choke point. As of late yesterday afternoon, the road was scheduled to remain open today, but State Police said that could change. They plan to monitor protesters and traffic around UMass.
''People in the area should expect to be detoured,'' said State Police Captain Robert Bird. ''Maybe only northbound or southbound, or maybe the whole thing.''
Police weren't saying what areas protesters would be allowed into, though one source said the area just south of the UMass-Boston entrance on Morrissey was a likely bet.
Only a few streets in the city will be officially closed for long periods - but spontaneous closures are likely, as the two candidates move around the city on routes that the Secret Service would not divulge.
Motorists should expect tie-ups after the debate, too. It ends at 10:30 p.m., and both Republican and Democrat candidates will be reaching out to supporters afterward. Gore will attend an event at the Park Plaza Hotel, and Bush reportedly may cause snarls around Boston Harbor by taking a water shuttle to an event in South Boston.
The all-clear signal for commuters won't be sounded until about 10 a.m. tomorrow, when both candidates are scheduled to have departed.
Streets that will be officially closed today, from noon to midnight, are:
Arlington Street between Boylston Street and Columbus Avenue.
Park Plaza between Charles Street South and St. James Avenue.
St. James Avenue between Arlington Street and Berkeley Street.
Mt. Vernon Street access to UMass-Boston.
MBTA buses that usually serve UMass-Boston, on the No. 8 route from Kenmore Square to Harbor Point, will travel up Mt. Vernon Street as far as police allow. The campus entrance from Mt. Vernon will be closed.
The UMass-Boston campus was closed at 12:01 a.m. today and won't reopen until 12:01 a.m. tomorrow. Streets in and around the Park Plaza Hotel will be subject to closure from noon to midnight.
Bush is scheduled to arrive at the general aviation terminal at Logan Airport at 12:15 p.m. today. Gore is slated to arrive at 2:15 p.m. and will be available to the press as he arrives, at 60 South Harborside Drive.
Harborside Drive is not officially closed in East Boston, but drivers there may experience delays as the candidates leave and return to the airport.
According to Gore's schedule, he heads out tomorrow from Boston at 8:30 a.m. Bush is scheduled to leave at 9:55 a.m. tomorrow.
After the debate, Gore will visit the Massachusetts Democratic Party Debate Watch event at the Park Plaza Hotel. That means that streets around the hotel may be snarled.
The MBTA will increase Red Line service starting at 6 p.m. today, officials said.
