DaytonDailyNews.com

FAIRBORN — With the Barack Obama rally at the Nutter Center expected to draw between 10,000 and 12,000 people, Fairborn police expect routes near the event to be snarled with traffic.

Doors were to open at the Nutter Center at 4 p.m. today, Feb. 25, and police "strongly encouraged" Obama-seekers to be there by that time if they wanted to get in. Get there after 4 p.m., and you probably won't be able to park.

The event is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

The Nutter Center reported early Monday afternoon that there were hundreds of people lined up for the event.

Among those already in line were Sonya Mills, 37, of Dayton who said this will be her first time voting and Obama will get her vote.

"This is the first time I ever cared," she said. "He's for change."

Joanne Hatch-Lewis, 69, and her husband, Clarence, 70, also waited in line but were on opposite sides of the political fence.

Hatch-Lewis said "I'm for Obama. He's for change. We need change. He listens to the people."

"And he's young. He has good ideas," said Hatch-Lewis.

Her husband kept interrupting her expressing his support for Sen. Hillary Clinton.

"Both of them are saying the same thing. She's for health care and he is too. They're just saying it in different ways," he said.

Fairborn police encouraged drivers take alternate routes to the Nutter Center, instead of trying to get there through North Fairfield Road, the main artery from I-675 to the Nutter Center's gateway. That road will already be busy at the I-675 intersection around 5 p.m. because of rush-hour traffic.

From the south, heading north on I-675:

• Take exit 15 for WPAFB Area B/Colonel Glenn Highway. Go eastbound on Colonel Glenn to Wright State University's campus, where officers will direct drivers through campus to enter behind the Nutter Center.

• Take exit 17 for North Fairfield Road. But instead of driving to North Fairfield, follow the sign for "WPAFB Areas A&C" and "Wright St. Univ." Get off at Wright State University exit. Turn left onto University Boulevard. Turn left onto Raider Rd and follow to the Nutter Center.

From the north or west, taking I-675 south from I-70:

• Take exit 17 for North Fairfield Road. Turn right onto North Fairfield Road, the right at Colonel Glenn Highway instead of driving straight into the Nutter Center parking lot. Follow Colonel Glenn around and take a right on onto on-ramp for 844 North. After a short jaunt, take Wright State University exit and turn left onto University Boulevard. Turn left onto Raider Road and follow to the Nutter Center.