Most of UC's 34,000 students will be taking their first classes, picking up books and getting their bearings on campus throughout the day. Traffic is expected to be heavy through the late afternoon on Interstate 75, around the Hopple Street exit, and on Interstate 71, near the William Howard Taft exit, said Steve Bailey, Cincinnati traffic engineer.

"Give yourself an extra 10 to 15 minutes," Bailey said. "We've been driving all summer and found things relatively free-flowing on certain routes. But suddenly, bam! School has started."

Bailey doesn't recommend detouring off the interstates onto the surface streets because they'll be just as jammed near the university, as students execute what can best be described as a hit-and-miss strategy for finding the few available parking spaces.

"It's going to be blocked up, from about 8 o'clock until 4 o'clock," at least for the first few days, said UC spokesman Greg Hand.

"It takes a while for students to get their carpools together, or to decide they're going to take the bus instead of driving. A lot of students drive their first day because they're buying and taking home all their books.

"The first few days to a week it's gridlock. The following week, it's noticeably lighter."

Parking is precious. UC has issued 5,000 to 6,000 parking permits to students and another 5,000 spaces go to faculty and staff. That leaves about 1,000 to 2,000 spaces available for visitors and occasional drivers, said John Hautz, director of parking services.

"It's like going to a Reds game in the middle of the afternoon when they have those businessmen's lunch games," he said.

Metro is trying to ease the pain. It added two cross-town routes to its collection of seven mostly north-south routes that serve the university area.

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