Idaho officials estimate some 160,000 people drove to the Gem State to witness this week’s solar eclipse.
The Idaho Transportation Department says the agency was well-prepared to handle the influx of visitors, thanks in large part to working with many other state agencies. ITD says months of planning resulted in worries of running out of gas, major crashes, and hours upon hours of traffic failing to come to fruition.
One tool to help with the congestion was the traffic counters on an ITD web page that gave people an idea on where others were going. The page received nearly a 100,000d views over the course of the eclipse weekend.
Officials say that from Thursday, August 17th through Monday the 21st, there were about 70,000 more cars coming into Idaho than there was during the same stretch in 2016. ITD’s number does not include anyone traveling to Idaho by plane, and Boise Airport officials say they won’t have exact numbers from the airlines until September.
The Idaho Department of Commerce says it’s still too early to assess the overall impact the eclipse had on the state’s economy because lodging fees won’t be finalized for several more months. (KTVB)
