(11:20 a.m.) – Traffic has started to increase in northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri as travelers come in to view the total solar eclipse.
Tonya Lohman, MoDOT Northwest District Maintenance and Traffic Engineer said traffic has started to increase after a slow start this morning in northwest Missouri.
“I think traffic seems to be adapting well just getting busier,” she said.
MoDOT has closed off rest areas on I-35 near Lathrop. MoDOT said crews are stationed at key intersections around St. Joseph, Cameron, Chillicothe and Carrollton monitoring traffic. Also, emergency response trucks are driving around key routes to help drivers in need and clear stalled vehicles off the roadway.
In Brown County Sheriff John Merchant said they are seeing a large number of travelers in the area. Merchant said there’s a large influx of vehicles on 75 highway in the northbound lanes. Also, 36 Highway west of Hiawatha is busy in the eastbound lanes. Merchant is asking people to pull off of the road completely if they want to stop to view the eclipse so emergency response vehicles can get through if needed.
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(8:20 a.m.) – Transportation officials said fewer vehicles than anticipated were hitting the highways Monday morning to go view the total solar eclipse.
Tonya Lohman, MoDOT Northwest District Maintenance and Traffic Engineer said around 7:45 a.m. that they are actually concerned with how light traffic has been.
“Saturday, Sunday and this morning there was not a lot of traffic out there,” she said. “I really encourage folks if they’re coming to the St. Joseph area to go ahead and get on the road now. You’ll have plenty of time to get in and get settled and not have to worry about any traffic jams.”
Lohman said as it becomes closer to the 11 a.m. time frame it could become more congested. Also, when viewing sites let out it could be congested at certain locations later in the day. She said if people do not make it to their location in time not to pull over on the highways.
“We do not want anyone coming over on the shoulder or the median,” she said. “Please do not pull over on the shoulder it is so unsafe. We do not want people doing that.”
Near Frederick and I-29, Joseph Turner with MoDOT said traffic looked pretty normal so far for a Monday morning.
“We’re on standby waiting to, if we have to, control the signals manually to help get people in and out,” Turner said. “We are ready here to keep traffic going safely when they all get here.”
Turner said they have spent the past few weeks getting traffic signals in St. Joseph ready for the day of the eclipse.
“We’ve also been getting some plans in place in case we have to close interchanges and we’ve also gotten safety crews out and on standby for motorist assist should anyone need some help out on the roads,” Turner said. “We’re encouraging everyone to buckle up, drive safely and don’t get distracted when the totality hits. Be sure you’re stopped to watch.. We don’t want any accidents and just be safe out there.”