Ahead of the April 8 total solar eclipse, which will stretch from Texas to Maine, some state transportation departments are advising truckers to consider staying off the roads as traffic is expected to be severely impacted by people traveling to see the astronomical event.
Millions of people descended on states with views of the 2017 total solar eclipse, congesting roadways. Transportation officials are sharing plans in an effort to minimize headache-inducing traffic jams. That includes guidance for truckers when up to 3.7 million people are expected to chase the darkness this time around.
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The Arkansas Department of Transportation expects 1.5 million people to travel to the state to see the eclipse, along with 500,000 Arkansans who are expected to travel from their homes to witness the path of totality. Officials say traffic could be so severe “that the day may be mostly unproductive for freight vehicles,” and they are asking truckers to take a voluntary holiday to avoid congested roadways that could impact their routes.
The Indiana Department of Transportation is bracing for a wave of “eclipse enthusiasts as they flock to the Hoosier State” by asking truckers to complete their loads on April 7 or April 9, according to a bulletin shared in February. Similarly, the Vermont transportation department is asking truckers to avoid driving on April 8 or 9.
It’s unclear how many truckers will heed that call.
“Freight movement is a 24/7 operation,” said Gary Langston, Indiana Motor Truck Association president and CEO. “Everything that we all have at some point moves on a truck, so to say let’s shut it all down and wait for people to watch the eclipse and move after just isn’t realistic.”
Truckers face the worst driving conditions imaginable every day as part of their profession, and Langston said their expertise will prepare them for eclipse traffic.
Indiana, a hub for manufacturing and trucking due to its interstates, expects hundreds of thousands of visitors to flood the state to witness the path of totality. Langston said he appreciated Indiana’s transportation department working with his office to find a solution feasible for the state’s truck drivers, many of whom might not be able to avoid making a trip on April 8.
“The last thing a truck driver wants to do with a load of freight is be caught in gridlock traffic,” he said. “That’s one of the most expensive costs to the freight industry.”
Langston said that superloads, which weigh over 200,000 pounds and require police escorts, won’t be operating during the eclipse because law enforcement won’t have the resources — a move backed by researchers who studied the 2017 eclipse’s impact on traffic.
Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association, said she wasn’t sure if taking a trucking holiday was realistic, as “the nature of moving freight is one that doesn’t necessarily stop.” Newton said she’s uncertain whether any truckers are taking a holiday.
She said Arkansas truck drivers have dealt with severe weather in the past but never something like this, calling the solar eclipse “a significant event.” She encouraged truck drivers to anticipate delays and to set accurate expectations for customers.
Transportation departments stressed that drivers — including truckers — should prepare to face eclipse traffic. AAA urged drivers to keep their headlights on and to not pull over on the side of the road to view the eclipse.
Out-of-this-world traffic is likely if this year’s eclipse proves as popular as 2017’s. Transportation engineering consultant Jonathan Upchurch said a trip from Casper, Wyoming, to Denver took 10 hours or more during the previous eclipse. It normally takes just four hours. Many transportation departments are asking visitors to arrive early and stay late in hopes of avoiding congestion seen in 2017.
“In the hours immediately following totality, almost every Interstate route passing through the path of totality showed red on Google Traffic maps,” Upchurch wrote in TR News in 2018.
What states are doing to prepare
School districts in Missouri, Texas, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, Arkansas and Ohio are closing for the eclipse, citing safety concerns and challenges posed by increased traffic.
Some Texas municipalities have declared a state of emergency ahead of the eclipse to give themselves more resources to handle the wave of visitors. New York State Police have developed an emergency operation plan, using the 2017 eclipse as a blueprint. Oklahoma is calling in the National Guard to provide support.
Hays County officials in Texas are urging eclipse chasers to bring a “solar eclipse survival bag” consisting of a cooler filled with food, enough medication for up to three days, cash, and paper maps and a compass.