Monday’s spectacular solar eclipse could create the largest traffic jam in US history.
“We’ve been preparing for this for months now,” said Matt Hiebert, assistant director of communications at the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Hiebert, who led a 14-state task force of highway officials to get ready for the gridlock, added that as of Saturday afternoon, “traffic levels in most states were normal, but we’re expecting things to pick up Sunday night and Monday morning.”
He also said Kentucky and Oregon did see a “noticeable” increase in traffic in certain areas where events were taking place, and “weather may still have an impact in some states, including Missouri, where cloudy skies may drive viewers to clear areas.”
An estimated 200 million people are within a day’s drive of the path of the first total solar eclipse in 99 years.
The 70-mile-wide path of totality, where the moon completely blocks the sun, stretches from Oregon to South Carolina.
South Carolina is expecting 2.2 million out-of-state visitors, followed by Tennessee (1.8 million) and Missouri (as many as 1.2 million). Hiebert’s numbers came from tallying area event counts, port-a-potty rentals and hotel and campground figures.
If you miss Monday’s nature show, don’t worry. Another is on the way — in seven years.
The next solar eclipse to cross New York City will happen on April 8, 2024, and it will be better than Monday’s.
“The path of totality will actually wash over New York state for that one. We will have almost 90 percent coverage in NYC,” Dr. Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History, told The Post.
“But folks could drive to Rochester or Buffalo or Niagara Falls and get totality. It will be the one for most New Yorkers alive right now to get really, really excited about!”
If you miss 2024, you may need a dog sled to view the next one on March 20, 2033. The only place where you can see a total solar eclipse will be northern Alaska.