When and where traffic could be the worst on solar eclipse day
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – While the total solar eclipse on April 8 will only last a few minutes, drivers could feel the effects for hours after the once-in-a-lifetime event ends.
The 124-mile-wide path of totality, where the sun will be 100% blocked by the moon, will span from the southwest to the northeast portion of the state. Everyone outside this coverage area will have a different view of the occurrence, but all of Ohio falls in at least a 95% coverage zone.
“We are treating it sort of as a major travel holiday, so Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, those are among the major travel holidays,” said Matt Bruning, press secretary for the Ohio Department of Transportation. “So what we do around those travel holidays is we will limit any unnecessary maintenance work.”
Limiting construction is not possible on all roadways in the state – Bruning said drivers could face additional congestion in the following areas on eclipse day due to construction:
- Interstate 70 and Interstate 71 in downtown Columbus
- Interstate 70 in Zanesville
- Interstate 75 through Cincinnati and Dayton
- Interstate 475 on the southwest side of Toledo
- Interstate 76, Interstate 77 and State Route 8 in Akron
ODOT also created an interactive map to display an hour-by-hour look at four potential traffic scenarios based on the number of visitors the state sees: 150,000, 350,000, 575,000 and 625,000. The department created the map by combining data on Ohio’s typical traffic patterns with Kentucky and Tennessee's travel data from the 2017 solar eclipse.
“What we tried to do is to mash up that data and make some predictions based on roadway type and see where we thought maybe some of the heavier congestion points would be,” Bruning said. “This was intended really for [emergency management and law enforcement] to determine where they wanted to deploy their resources … but certainly the public can use it as a good gauge for what we think the travel patterns are going to look like.”
Bruning expects weather in Ohio to play a role in the amount of visitors the state sees. He said if April 8 is a sunny day, the state will likely see more visitors, especially in northwest Ohio where he predicts people will travel from Michigan. If it’s cloudy, he said people will likely head to another state if they can.
As for what time of day traffic will be the worst, Bruning said ODOT expects to see the worst traffic immediately after the eclipse. He compared the event to a fireworks display. All morning, afternoon and evening, people trickle in to see the display, but when the grand finale goes off and the fireworks are done, everyone leaves at the same time.
“We’re telling people come early, stay late, have a plan for maybe doing something nearby that you could just walk to, or maybe you’re viewing from a place where there’s attractions like the zoo or an amusement park,” Bruning said. “Hopefully you can have something to do after the eclipse so that you can avoid immediately getting on the road.”
In Columbus, the eclipse will begin at 1:55 p.m. and achieve peak coverage at about 3:15 p.m., before ending at 4:27 p.m. ODOT’s traffic prediction map shows multiple parts of the state could face the worst traffic in the hours after the eclipse.
“This is not going to be something where you’re going to be able to zip home,” Bruning said. “If, on a normal day, if going from point A to point B takes you an hour, I would probably double, triple, maybe even quadruple that just depending on how many people come into the state of Ohio.”
For the safety of eclipse viewers, motorists and first responders, Bruning urges the importance of not watching the eclipse from the side of the road.
“Make sure you’re going to an approved place, that you have permission to be there or it's a public spot but the side of the roadway or the side of the highway is certainly not the spot to watch,” Bruning said.
In Bruning’s overall advice to drivers, he says to “plan, prepare and be patient.” He advises drivers to top off their fuel tank before leaving the spot where they watched the eclipse in case they get stuck in hours of traffic.