WACO, Texas — People from all around the world are preparing to take a trip to Central Texas for the total solar eclipse on April 8.
Cities are projecting to see over 100,000 visitors this weekend. With that many people not from this area, cities hope to keep eclipse travelers in line.
"We're pretty sure we're going to see some traffic gridlock and we need to be prepared for that," Jim Devlin, Hewitt Assistant City Manager, said. "We already know what Interstate 35 looks like on a daily basis. If we add the numbers that emergency management thinks are going to come to the community, you can expect that those drive times are going to be much, much longer."
The City of Waco has placed 20 cameras on major roadways to help with traffic patterns.
"Being able to see those roadways is super important for police and fire and other emergency groups to be able to make choices and decisions on those days," Ryan Holt, Waco Assistant City Manager, said. "We opted to have eyes on, literally, but without having to put a person out there so we can be smarter about our personnel deployment so that we can provide a safer environment for both our residents and visitors alike."
Central Texas drivers also might notice new signage in Hewitt. It's for eclipse travelers who might not be familiar with the rules.
"We have two very nice parks," Devlin said. "They already have "no camping" ordinances for them. They also have designated hours of when they're open and when they're closed. We just don't want to, you know, create a situation where we have folks that don't understand the local ordinances and/or laws taking advantage of those particular areas because that could lead to several other problems down the road."
City officials say there doesn't need to be any panic. Just be prepared for longer commutes.
"Pack a lot of patience," Holt added.
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