Planning a weekend drive on Saturday afternoon? You may want to think twice.

With the University of Hawai'i's football home opener coinciding with Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's one-day visit, motorists are being advised to expect delays along O'ahu freeways and other major thoroughfares Saturday afternoon.

The UH game at Aloha Stadium kicks off at 6:15 p.m., with gates opening at 2:30 p.m., said stadium authority spokesman Patrick Leonard. Just under 20,000 tickets had been sold for the game as of yesterday afternoon, UH officials said.

Arroyo is scheduled to be at the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu at 2 p.m. for the unveiling of a statue honoring the sakada immigrant workers as part of the Filipino Centennial Celebration.

U.S. Secret Service officials will not disclose the precise route of Arroyo's motorcade, but she is expected to travel from either Kahala or Waikiki to Waipahu an hour or two before the event.

The motorcade is also expected to take her from Waipahu to her other scheduled public event, the dedication of a memorial marker honoring Filipino and American World War II soldiers at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, sometime between 3:30 and 5 p.m.

ANTICIPATE DELAYS

Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa, Honolulu Police Capt. Frank Fujii and Secret Service agent-in-charge Al Joaquin all advised motorists to anticipate delays.

"Starting from early afternoon, I would expect it to be much, much more congested around Aloha Stadium, particularly with the UH game and President Arroyo's visit to Hawai'i," Ishikawa said.

"We're going to do our best to avoid complete lockdowns (of roads)," Fujii said. "There'll probably be rolling lockdowns. We're always cognizant about the impacts."

Officials said they will also work to ensure minimum traffic delays around the motorcade as well. "Obviously, during motorcade movements, it's a controlled motorcade meaning we will have bikes and we will close off certain streets," Joaquin said. "But that should not be an extended closure, by any means."

Arroyo is expected to arrive in Honolulu around 6:30 a.m. Saturday and depart for the Philippines at about 9 a.m. Sunday, Joaquin said.

IT COULD BE WORSE

In general, because the visit is taking place during the weekend, he said he did not expect major traffic disruptions.

He said Arroyo's motorcade is not expected to cause the same disruptions as a visit from a U.S. president.

"It's not an extensive motorcade, so the delays will be minimal," Joaquin said. "There are going to be some inconveniences, but anytime you have a foreign dignitary in the area, you are going to encounter that."

Arroyo's visit comes on the heels of the nightmare commute motorists experienced on Sept. 5 when the H-1 was shut down for about 12 hours between 'Aiea and Pearl City when a trailer carrying a hydraulic excavator struck a pedestrian bridge. Drivers reported being stuck in traffic for three to five hours.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.