Traffic builds near Rutgers as grads head to commencement

It will be day of hurry-up-and-wait for everyone making their way to Rutgers University for commencement on Sunday.

The school's 250th anniversary Commencement will get underway at 12:30 p.m. highlighted by an address by President Barack Obama.

10:20 a.m. -

As the ceremony gets closer several roads and ramps were closed at 10 a.m. including Landing Lane between Easton Avenue and River Road and the ramps from both directions of Route 18 to River Road. River Road is also closed between Hoes Lane and Landing Lane and Hoes Lane in Piscataway is closed between River Road and Frelinghuysen Road

Earlier, Route 18 was the popular route to Commencement with traffic backed up northbound just north of Route 1. A view on the NJ Department of Transportation cameras showed people walking along Route 18 as well.

New Jersey Fast Traffic's Bernie Wagenblast said that the train might be a good option at this point. "Take a train to New Brunswick and catch a Rutgers shuttle bus to the stadium," suggested Wagenblast. Route 28 and Route 287 are good ways in from the north according to Wagenblast, but are subject to closure for security purposes.

Exit 9 off Route 287 for River Road is closed to traffic as scheduled  at 6 a.m., and will remain shut down until 2 p.m.

The gates at High Point Solutions Stadium opened at 8 a.m. with delays expected on Routes 287, 78, 18, 27 and 1.

A special hangtag is required to park in Rutgers lots for today's events. Regular parking stickers will not be valid today. Once attendees are inside the stadium they will not be permitted to leave until Commencement is completed.

"Whenever the president and Secret Service is involved remember that traffic can be stopped and re-routed without notice. You should leave yourself plenty of time to get to Rutgers," New Jersey Fast Traffic's Bob Williams said.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama's speech at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway would focus on how the Class of 2016 can navigate the rapidly changing planet.

"These students are as well-prepared as any students have ever been to confront those challenges and use this changing environment to create a better world," Earnest said. "That's what makes the president so fundamentally optimistic about the future of our country, and that optimism is manifested quite well in this year's graduating class at Rutgers."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.