Watching the eclipse in Erie? Expect heavy traffic, and likely a slow return trip home

Erie County is expected to be flooded with sky watchers on the afternoon of April 8 when the sky darkens during a total solar eclipse.

Handling the inflow, and more importantly the exit, of those visitors is the focus of local transportation and emergency service agencies as the big day draws nearer.

It's unknown how many people will travel here to view the eclipse from outside of Erie County, which sits along the eclipse's path of totality, and when they will arrive before the big event. But what is known, based on information gathered from other areas of the country that have experienced a total eclipse, is that one big traffic headache is likely to occur once the event is over.