There are three things people need to know about the upcoming inauguration of the nation's first black president:

First, it's going to be historic.

Second, it's going to create a traffic mess of historic proportions.

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And third, that isn't going to stop Obama fans and history junkies -- from Pennsylvania and across the country -- from jockeying like mad to be there.

"You are kidding," said Bob Bruce, one of the lucky few with tickets to Barack Obama's swearing-in as president, when told he'd probably have to be at a Washington Metrorail station at 4 a.m. on Jan. 20 if he wanted to get to the U.S. Capitol in time for the noon ceremony.

"I had a plan, but I guess I'm going to have to change that plan. I guess I'm going to have to get more creative about how we're going to get there," said Mr. Bruce, a Maryland-based telephone executive who is taking his mother, Mildred Lindsay, of Beltzhoover, to the swearing-in ceremony with tickets won in a lottery held by Sen. Arlen Specter's office.

At least 2 million people are expected to converge upon the National Mall for the Inaugural -- a number expected to beat the record set at Lyndon Johnson's 1965 inauguration, which attracted 1.2 million people.

But Washington's Metrorail system can only handle 120,00 people an hour, and many, many more people than that are expected to jam the rail system's stations. With scores of downtown streets expected to be closed as part of a security perimeter, city officials have suggested walking or biking to the Mall for the Inaugural ceremony.

"I guess it all depends on how agile you are," said former Pennsylvania Sen. Harris Wofford, 82, who will be marching in the Inaugural parade as a member of the Peace Corps -- an organization he helped found -- with his two grandsons. "I suppose if I can walk in the parade I can also find a way to get to the Mall, but it will be a challenge that day."

The festivities -- expected to cost about $40 million, with $27 million raised so far -- include a number of events, from candlelight dinners with donors and members of Congress to the inaugural parade and the 10 official inaugural balls, seven of them hosted by the First Couple, and three others that they'll attend.

But the hottest ticket by far is the swearing-in ceremony. While large video screens will be set up on the mall, only about 240,000 people will actually have tickets to the event on the Capitol's West Lawn -- with all but 30,000 of them standing-room only.

Each U.S. senator has been allotted 393 tickets -- and 198 to each House member -- by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inauguration Ceremonies. Consequently, congressional offices have resorted to lotteries to handle the demand for tickets from constituents, while withholding an unspecified number for family members, staffers, supporters and "special guests."

U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, "received 15 requests for every one inauguration ticket we were allotted," said his spokeswoman, Tess Mullen. "As we worked our way through this overwhelming number of requests, we tried to distribute tickets as fairly as possible, taking into account factors such as when people submitted their requests and where people lived, so we could make sure people from all across the district were given the opportunity to attend."

Sen. Bob Casey's office was swamped with 20,000 requests for tickets -- beginning in December 2007, said his spokeswoman, Kendra Barkoff.

"We are dividing ours up and giving some on a first-come, first-serve basis," Ms. Barkoff said, adding that others will be given away via a lottery, while still others would be given to local officials, community activists and a few family members.

Mr. Casey is inviting 20 "special guests" to attend the ceremony, she said, "people who are representative of Pennsylvania, in terms of the challenges they are facing and specifically in the case of veterans, service members and families, the sacrifices they are making for the country."

One of Mr. Casey's special guests is Cheryl Harris, of Cranberry, whose son, Sgt. Ryan Douglas Maseth, was electrocuted while showering at his quarters in Baghdad's Green Zone a year ago. Ms. Harris said she met Mr. Casey when he began pushing for an investigation into faulty wiring practices that may have killed other soldiers.

"I've never been invited to an inauguration and I'm excited to just be there and be a part of that history," said Ms. Harris, adding that her trip to Washington would come after a difficult holiday, during which she marked the first anniversary of her son's death on Jan. 2.

While declining to describe her political leanings, "I welcome the change in administrations. My hope is that in the future this change will actually result in better protections for the troops."

For Mr. Bruce, getting a ticket for his 60-year-old mother from Mr. Specter's office was a pleasant surprise, but there was never any question that she would go to the Inaugural, ticket or not.

"I felt I needed to do something for her that was worthy of the upbringing we received," said Mr. Bruce, who is senior national project manager for Verizon's 911 service.

His mother, Mildred Lindsay, was one of the few female barbers in Pittsburgh, he said, raising her 10 brothers and one sister and six children of her own in her homes in East Liberty, and, later, in Beltzhoover.

"My mom never gets the break that I think she really deserves and this is a grand opportunity for her to get to see an historic event," said Mr. Bruce, 39.

"I hope she'll be able to say that all of her efforts over the years to see young black men succeed -- and a lot of them in my family have -- has been worth it."