City, county leaders detail preparations ahead of Monday's total solar eclipse

AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- City and county leaders are getting ready for next week's total solar eclipse - with thousands of visitors from outside the area expected to travel to Central Texas to take in the celestial event.

"This is really a once in a lifetime event for Central Texas," Mayor Kirk Watson said in a Tuesday afternoon press conference. "Our community has a chance to really view something spectacular and we want everyone to do that safety, to prioritize their well being and to know how to prepare."

One of the biggest impacts, according to local officials, is going to be traffic. In addition to the eclipse on Monday, there are several other special events happening across the city over the course of the weekend - including an Austin FC match at Q2 Stadium, the CMT Music Awards at the Moody Center, and the Cap10K.

Much of Austin will lie in the eastern edge of the path of totality, which will last from one to two minutes around 1:37 p.m. Monday afternoon. Totality will last longer further to the west into the Hill Country, where areas closer to the center of the path will see as much as four minutes of darkness.

The eclipse itself will begin around noon and conclude around 3 p.m., according to meteorologist Paul Yura with the National Weather Service.

Ken Snipes, director of the city's Homeland Security and Emergency Management office, said the influx of visitors means Austinites should avoid non-essential travel, and plan extra time for travel on Monday.

"If you need to take care of routine activities like refueling or getting groceries we ask that you do so in advance," said Snipes.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is bracing for the heavy traffic, according to airport spokesperson Sam Haynes. She said the airport's car rental agencies are currently 100% booked.

For the weekend of April 6-8, downtown hotel occupancy is averaging around 77%, officials said, with rates about 48% higher than this time last year.

Brad Wheelis with TxDOT said the influx of visitors is expected to create impacts across the state, with particular impacts across the city's major travel corridors.

"We expect a million or more people to visit the state of Texas to see the eclipse and that’s going to mean a substantial increase in traffic volumes on our major corridors," said Wheelis.

The Austin Public Library will host eclipse viewing parties at several of its locations, including the Menchaca, Cepeda, North Village, Old Quarry, Pleasant Hill, Twin Oaks, Willie Mae Current and Windsor branches, along with the Central Library. Eclipse glasses will be available beginning on Thursday until they're gone, with a limited reserve supply available on Monday.