Payton Baggett Reporting
news@clarksvillenow.com

MANCHESTER, Tenn. – Crowds headed to the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival are expected to create added highway congestion through Monday.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation and Tennessee Highway Patrol are working with the Manchester Police Department and Coffee County Sheriff’s Department to prepare for an expected 80,000 people in and out of Manchester, TN for the four day event.

Annually attended by fans from across the nation, the music festival comprised of multiple stages and campsites begins Thursday, June 13 and lasts through Sunday, June 16.

The plan of action for TDOT and THP is to manage the increased amount of cars by having state troopers maintain a smooth flow of traffic on I-24, patrolling both on the ground and in the air in an effort to remind those travelling to the festival to proceed to their destination without violating traffic laws. Exit 111 will be used as the main festival exit, with alternate exits 97, 105, 112,117 and 127 being used in the event that it cannot contain all traffic, with all Bonnaroo traffic being limited to the right lane and shoulder of the interstate. As the gates to Bonnaroo open at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday night, Troopers will be working around the clock until the conclusion of the festival. TDOT Commissioner John Schroer said that “Because of advance planning, we feel certain that we can successfully minimize traffic delays throughout the weekend.”

This planning includes reducing the speed limit on I-24 to 55 mph between mile marker 104.6 and mile marker 129.4, between Wednesday night and Sunday night, after which it will return to normal. This increased attention to safety on the road to Bonnaroo is likely in response to the incidents in years past. L Last year’s event saw Troopers responding to 29 traffic crashes and issued 1,092 traffic citations, along with many other violations.

Additional precautions being taken include using message signs on the road to communicate news delays to drivers, not allowing construction-related lane closures in the area of the interstate near the festival grounds through Monday night, guarding medians to prevent parking in those areas, routing emergency vehicles to less used county roads, and placing temporary communication towers in the area for emergency communications. HELP trucks will be present on-site, TDOT maintenance units will be posted throughout the festival region, and maintenance personnel will be on call all weekend.

During the festival motorists should call 511 from any mobile or land line phone for traffic updates or visit the TDOT website at www.tn.gov/tdot for information on alternate routes, or follow TN511 on Twitter for statewide updates, and Nashville511,Chattanooga511, Memphis511 and Knoxville511 for regional information.

Smartphone users can download the TDOT SmartWay mobile app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store for Android to access TDOT’s SmartWay cameras, messages displayed on overhead Dynamic Message Signs, and information on construction related lane closures and incidents on interstates and state routes.

Drivers should keep in mind that if they need the assistance of a Trooper while traveling anywhere in Tennessee, they can simply dial *THP (*847) from their cell phone. They will be automatically connected to the nearest THP dispatch office and the operator will send a Trooper to their location.

(Photo: Rob Selkow/Clarksvillenow.com)