BOSTON -- Traffic may not be as bad as predicted in Boston during the Democratic National Convention next month after all.

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That's the word Monday from the man in charge of the nominating convention scheduled for the FleetCenter.

NewsCenter 5's Jim Morelli reported that Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said traffic woes may be exaggerated. He told the Boston Herald there will likely be few problems during the convention because many of the 35,000 delegates, media and other attendees, will be traveling by foot and bus in an area close to the convention site.

Seven miles of Interstate 93, and miles of roads within a 15-mile radius of downtown Boston, will be closed every afternoon during the convention, which will run from July 26 to July 29. Commuter rail lines will also be closed down. Even so, McAuliffe told the Herald, "contrary to what people think, it is not going to be a traffic gridlock." He said similar problems confronted organizers in Los Angeles before the last Democratic convention, but everything worked out well.

"Everybody's going to be able to move around easily and freely. They're going to have a great time," said McAuliffe.

As for reports that the convention is $5 million over budget, he said it's a problem that comes up every four years with conventions and it always gets resolved. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he will ask Congress for help in paying for the convention's steep security costs.

"The Secret Service is demanding so much of us that the costs we thought originally are escalating. So, we have a bill for the Congress. I've got some assurances from Congress that they will go through in the very near future," said Menino, adding that he expects to get $25 million from Congress to help pay for convention expenses.

In the meantime, two of the area's larger tourist attractions, the Museum of Science and the New England Aquarium, are planning to close at 3 p.m. to avoid expected convention traffic problems.