Last Updated on December 27, 2019 11:29 am
Upwards of one million people are expected to travel to and through North Carolina for Monday’s solar eclipse, and NCDOT is working to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible. Seven counties in the far west – Cherokee, Graham, Clay, Swain, Macon, Jackson, and Transylvania – are in the path of totality and will experience very high traffic volumes.
The department has placed 42 new message boards, three new CCTV cameras, and four additional State Farm Safety Patrol trucks in the mountains area, and has suspended maintenance work in most mountain counties.
Many DMV offices will be closed in the area Monday as well. For an up to date listing of closures, please visit NCDOT’s eclipse webpage.
In terms of traveling around the area, locals should treat Monday almost like a snow day. Road conditions will be fine, but unprecedented traffic volumes, especially Monday afternoon and evening, will make it difficult to even run local errands, or otherwise get around, even for the work commute. So residents in the area should try to get those errands done over the weekend and if they can, stay off the roads on Monday. If they do have to go out, they need to anticipate needing extra time for those trips.
