Eclipse 2017: What you need to know about Colorado, Wyoming traffic

A once-in-a-lifetime spectacle promises once-in-a-lifetime traffic.

As millions of Americans prepare to trek to the path of totality for Monday’s solar eclipse, Colorado authorities are bracing for crazy traffic. The problem is, they don’t know exactly what to expect.

“The last time this happened was 1918,” Colorado Department of Transportation spokesman Jared Fiel said, referencing the last time a solar eclipse’s path of totality scrawled across the nation. “This is a pretty unprecedented event.”

Wyoming could see as many as 600,000 visitors for the eclipse — more than doubling the state's existing population — according to some estimates. If two-thirds of those visitors come from the south, that would mean an influx of 400,000 people on Colorado’s already-clogged highways. And that’s not including people making their way to Nebraska through Colorado.

“We are fully expecting that every single road going up into Wyoming or Nebraska is going to be packed,” Fiel said.

Just a few of the roads in danger of becoming parking lots: Interstate 25, Interstate 76, U.S. Highway 287 and U.S. Highway 85.

Fiel said traffic will be worse on the return journey — heading south from Monday afternoon to Tuesday morning — as opposed to the days leading up to the eclipse, when the rush will be more dispersed.

Because the eclipse traffic won't be enough of a headache, Northern Colorado will also see a traffic boost from the first day of classes at Colorado State University and the kickoff of incoming student events at University of Colorado-Boulder.

Because this eclipse is unprecedented in the age of modern traffic, it’s hard to say how much travel time you should allow if you’re headed to the path of totality in Wyoming, Nebraska or elsewhere. But Fiel said you should definitely budget a lot more time than you need, and then a little more.

CDOT is hitting the pause button on all road construction from Friday afternoon to Tuesday morning, and oversize and overweight vehicles (think semi-trucks, not RVs) won’t be allowed to travel through most of Colorado from Thursday night to Wednesday morning.

CDOT and Colorado State Patrol officers will be stationed at various locations around Northern Colorado so they can respond more quickly to crashes and other emergencies. You can help them out by driving safely to prevent crashes.

A few tips to keep in mind from CSP and CDOT:

• Put your phone down and pay attention to the road.
• Don’t try to drive the speed limit if the flow of traffic is slower than that.
• Keep a safe following distance between you and the car in front of you.
• Don’t pull over on the side of the road unless it’s an absolute emergency
• Gas up, and bring snacks and lots of water on the drive.

Text the word “ECLIPSE” to 888777 for Larimer County-specific updates on traffic, emergency and weather alerts for the eclipse. Find real-time traffic updates at www.cotrip.org for Colorado and www.wyoroad.info for Wyoming.

What is a solar eclipse?
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth. The moon appears to completely cover the disk of the sun. By blocking the sun's light, the moon casts a shadow on Earth.
When is the next one?
After this year's eclipse, the next total solar eclipse in the U.S. will be on April 8, 2024, and will be visible from Texas to New England.

Other places to view the eclipse
Grand Teton National Park: The southern edge of this Wyoming national park is within the path of totality. Talk about scenic views, but you'll have to drive upwards of seven hours from Northern Colorado.
Elsewhere in Wyoming: Head to the small towns of Guernsey or Torrington to save yourself some driving time. You can get to either town in about two and a half hours and be in the path of totality, although neither town will see the total eclipse for as long as Casper.
Nebraska: Alliance, Scottsbluff and North Platte are all within four hours of Fort Collins and are in the path of totality. Scottsbluff is a mere two hours and some change from Fort Collins, but it's not quite as close to the center of the path as are the other two cities.

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