TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — Thousands of visitors will trickle into Central Texas as early as Wednesday, April 3, and into the weekend in the hopes of catching the perfect view of the total solar eclipse that will take over skies on Monday, April 8.
More visitors naturally means more cars on the roads throughout the area.
All of the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) maintenance crews will be on call on Monday in case of signal outages, and workers with their Highway Emergency Response Operator (HERO) program will be available for any motorists that get stuck.
Many construction projects will also be halted Monday in order to allow for extra traffic flow on area roadways.
Here are some of the main roadways that will be impacted:
- Interstate 35 stretching from Dallas down to the border
- State Highway 71 outside the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, in the Del Valle area
- U.S. 290 through Dripping Springs into the Hill Country
- U.S. 281 through the Hill Country
"We want to remind visitors that the stars at night are big and bright," TxDOT spokesperson Brad Wheelis said. "There are a lot of sanctioned events that are going on. You don't want to park on the main lanes of any roadway or even pulling off to the shoulder or on the grass. We have beautiful wildflowers, and your car could spark a fire."
TxDOT officials also recommend staggering your trip, arriving earlier and leaving a few days late to allow for better traffic flow.
Deputies with the Travis County Sheriff's Office will also be helping with traffic flow during the event.
The HERO program is open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday. Call 512-974-HERO to request assistance.