Traffic jams clog US highways as eclipse viewers head home after watching once-in-a-lifetime event

A once-in-a-lifetime celestial event led to nightmarish traffic jams, as tens of thousands of people across the United States blocked highways as they returned home after watching the total solar eclipse.

Shortly after totality gradually ended in part of the country on Monday, viewers took to the roads and slowed traffic to a slow pace.

In Indiana – which was almost entirely covered by totality and was the destination of choice for many observers – traffic came to a standstill on parts of Interstate 65 and 67 as totality passed, the Indianapolis reported Star.

Traffic jams were exacerbated by the fact that so many drivers had stopped at rest areas across the state to view the eclipse that they had reached maximum capacity, leading to backups as they were all heading back on the road, said Indiana State Police Sgt. » John Perrine said in an X post.

Illinois also saw an increase in severe slowdowns and even accident reports after the eclipse passed, the state Department of Transportation said.

In the Northeast, roads in Vermont were nearly empty as totality passed overhead, WCAX reported, but roads filled up within minutes of the eclipse ending, leading to the heaviest traffic jams in the Burlington area.

Photos taken outside Columbus, Ohio, by the Columbus Dispatch showed long lines of cars stretching along the south side of U.S. 23 as residents returned to the city.

In some places, traffic preceded the eclipse as people made one last sprint to catch the eclipse before it arrived.

Michigan saw such heavy traffic as people tried to speed south to reach full 3 p.m. in Ohio, leading to huge traffic jams on Interstate 75, Click On Detroit reported.

In the south, Arkansas saw traffic increase as soon as the eclipse passed, according to 4029 News.

In New York, intersections became crowded during the city’s eclipse as people filled the streets to catch as many glimpses of the sun as they could between the tall towers – prompting angry drivers to honk their horns as the The crowd largely ignored them.