With an estimated 1 million people coming to Oregon for Monday's total solar eclipse, the Oregon Department of Transportation has said the result could be the "biggest traffic event in Oregon history."
While it may not have lived up to the pre-eclipse hype, freeway traffic was slow for many drivers heading south to the path of totality.
Minutes after the total eclipse ended, drivers hit the road to try and beat the traffic home.
INTERSTATE 5
As of 11 a.m., traffic on Interstate 5 was slow heading north and south of Salem.
Southbound traffic was very slow between Salem and Corvallis.
The drive time from Salem to Portland was nearly 3 hours.
I5 @ Jefferson Exit Marion County. Please be patient and have a safe trip home. pic.twitter.com/wDjikkm2CM
— Marion Co. Sheriff (@MCSOInTheKnow) August 21, 2017
CENTRAL OREGON
As of 12 p.m. Monday, TripCheck showed stop-and-go traffic on U.S. 97 south of Madras and north of Redmond.
Hwy 26 is a complete standstill out of Madras. #OReclipse pic.twitter.com/5EPmvFkKoG
— Kyle Iboshi (@KyleIboshi) August 21, 2017
Despite warnings from ODOT, drivers parked along at least one Central Oregon highway in anticipation of the eclipse. ODOT warned the tactic could be very dangerous due to the extreme fire danger in the area. ODOT said the shoulders were for emergencies only.
Drivers are parked along US 97 between Madras and Redmond despite warnings from ODOT #Eclipse2017 pic.twitter.com/V7eu6XgrNu
— KGW News (@KGWNews) August 21, 2017
Here's the live image from US 97 at US 26.
One area of Oregon that saw extreme congestion early was Highway 26 near Prineville, but even that had calmed down by Sunday.
Traffic headed to the Symbiosis eclipse festival, which began Thursday and is expected to draw 30,000 people, clogged the highway from east of Prineville to the event in the Ochoco National Forest. On Wednesday and Thursday, traffic was backed up for 30 miles. Even by mid-day Saturday, traffic was flowing freely.
The long mid-week backup led police and the Oregon Department of Transportation to reroute traffic off the highway for several hours on Thursday before it was reopened that night.
The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office estimated 30,000 people arrived in Central Oregon Thursday and around 40,000 people would show up each of the following three days.
The vast majority of those people are expected to leave Monday and Tuesday.
EASTERN OREGON
In Eastern Oregon, Tripcheck showed some delays in the John Day area on Thursday and Friday. Monday morning, traffic heading in all directions was a bit slower than average, but there were no major incidents reported.
Your pics: Getting ready for the eclipse
OREGON COAST
TripCheck showed traffic was slower than average after the eclipse, but it was stop-and-go traffic near Lincoln City.
This is the most traffic we've seen all weekend. It's slow going getting out of Lincoln City #OReclipse2017 eClipse #Eclipse2017 pic.twitter.com/4wRK40yc5a
— Christine Pitawanich (@CPitawanichKGW) August 21, 2017
Traffic speed on U.S. 101 up and down the coast around noon on Monday was still slower than average, but no major incidents were reported.
