Worried about traffic on SC roads during the eclipse? There’s an app for that

There could be as many as two million people visiting the Palmetto State for Monday’s eclipse, according to South Carolina Emergency Management Division estimates. That means that the state’s roads will be incredibly congested.

“It could be like July 4th weekend, or like there are 10 Carolina-Clemson games being played across the state,” said Rob Perry, state traffic management engineer for South Carolina Department of Transportation. “At the end of the day we’ve only got so many roads for folks to drive on and we’re going to get out of their way and help those that need our help.”

The SCDOT will be opening all lanes on the day of the eclipse to try and make travel easier, and also positioning additional workers along busy roads to help stranded motorists, in a move similar to the state’s Highway Patrol. Interstate 26 will receive the bulk of additional workers, but Interstates 95, 85 and 77 will also get a boost.

As for traffic conditions themselves, those driving on eclipse day can keep a close eye on them both online and through a convenient cell phone app.

“People can go on our 511 app and they can see real-time traffic data on the interstates. They can look at our cameras. They can even see what messages we’re putting on our message boards,” said Perry. “They can see if there are traffic delays or any congestion. If I were someone thinking about traveling to our state to view this thing, I would definitely put the 511 app on my phone.”

Perry recommends checking the app before hitting the road, and periodically along the way to remain current on traffic conditions.

The app is available for both Apple and Android devices. Simply search SC 511 in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

“It’s blue and white and it has our state symbol on it, so it should jump out at you,” said Perry.

Information available on the 511 app can also be accessed online through the SCDOT website.

It is unknown at this point exactly which roads will be the worst, but SCDOT is keeping a close eye on them to respond quickly if things bog down too much.

“Right now we’re monitoring our traffic polling stations, which anyone can go online and do themselves,” said Perry. “If we do see something where one of our interstates becomes a parking lot, that will be something where we’ll have to decide with Highway Patrol what we’re going to do.”

The SCEMD released a list of eclipse tips last month that can be found here. Among their tips? Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to get where you are going on Monday, as even with measures in place to help, delays are still expected, and whatever you do, if you are driving during the eclipse, do not stop your car to look at it.

This story was originally published August 20, 2017 at 1:27 PM with the headline "Worried about traffic on SC roads during the eclipse? There’s an app for that."