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Central Utah braces for traffic issues, crowds with annular solar eclipse expected to draw thousands There’s already a lot of excitement in central Utah about the eclipse passing over the state on Oct 14.
Officials are already warning people that traffic is expected to be a huge problem for people traveling to see it. However, the warnings aren’t sitting well with some business owners in Richfield. They’re worried overhead messaging on the freeways over the state may convince some visitors to keep out. Over a quarter million people are expected to come to central Utah to watch the eclipse — so, traffic is likely to be a nightmare. “Right now, the predictions are looking at about 318,000 extra visitors to our state during the weekend of the 13th to the 15th of October,” said UDOT Traveler Information Program Manager Karen Crawford.Crawford said they spoke with transportation departments in other states that had similar events, and those states had big problems. So, they tried to avoid making those same mistakes. “If they could have done anything different, they would have started messaging sooner," Crawford said.“When we’re talking about ‘limited services,’ from a UDOT perspective, we are speaking specifically to stations along our exits such as gas stations [and] lodging,” Crawford said. That message doesn’t sit well with Dennis Jorgensen, even though it has been changed. He owns Herb’s Place and Jorgensen Lanes in Richfield — a prime spot to see the eclipse.“If I was driving down the freeway and I saw that sign, I might not go at all. I’ll just go somewhere else that weekend, or just skip it all together," Jorgensen said. He said business owners have been warned about a huge influx of people coming into Sevier County, and he says, bring it on. “They’ve told us that they’re expecting somewhere around 30,000 people to come in on the weekend,” Jorgensen said. On top of the eclipse traffic, there’s another problem. Southbound I-15 in Mona had to be restricted to one lane while crews repair large potholes, and those repairs could take a week to complete.
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