Solar eclipse leads to increase in traffic on major Texas roads

AUSTIN, Texas - Drivers faced long drive times on major Central Texas roads following the eclipse.

"We opened the Emergency Operations Center over the weekend so that we could be on top of this and make sure that we were prepared for anything that came our way," said Brad Wheelis, TxDOT spokesperson.

According to Wheelis, light traffic was seen throughout the morning with trouble spots being in the Blanco and Burnet areas. However, things started to cool down while people watched the eclipse.

For those watching at a park in Marble Falls, the clouds parted at the perfect time to catch the tail end of the show.

"It was all cloudy and then boom. It came through, and it was beautiful," said Cooper Craig.

These folks caught around four minutes of totality. Those watching said the eclipse was a once in a lifetime experience.

"It was morning, nighttime, and then morning again. It looked like an alien ship," said Wesley Craig.

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It was after the eclipse, when people started to head home, the traffic began.

"Immediately after totality, we started seeing traffic stack up in the Burnet area," said Wheelis.

FOX 7 Austin also saw traffic in and around Marble Falls and in the Hill Country. Hays County officials also reported a 30-minute traffic delay on the highway from Wimberley to San Marcos.

"None of us have been through an eclipse like this here in Texas. This is a special event, a once in a lifetime, really and so we wanted to make sure that our crews were deployed. They could respond to any incidents that happened along the roadways," said Wheelis.