This photo provided by Bob Baer and Sarah Kovac, participants in the Citizen CATE Experiment, shows a "diamond ring" shape during the 2016 total solar eclipse in Indonesia. For the 2017 eclipse over the United States, the National Science Foundation-funded movie project nicknamed Citizen CATE will have more than 200 volunteers trained and given special small telescopes and tripods to observe the sun at 68 locations in the exact same way. The thousands of images from the citizen-scientists will be combined for a movie of the usually hard-to-see sun’s edge. (R. Baer, S. Kovac/Citizen CATE Experiment via AP)
RALEIGH (AP) — North Carolina officials say about 1 million people are expected to travel to and through the state for the eclipse.Seven counties in the far western part of the state are in the path of totality and expect lots of traffic.
The transportation department has placed 42 new message boards, three new cameras, and four additional safety patrol trucks in the mountains area. It also suspended maintenance work in most mountain counties.The agency's new release advises residents to try to stay off the roads Monday.
DOT advised drivers to treat Monday almost like a snow day. Road conditions will be fine, but the department says "unprecedented" traffic, especially Monday afternoon and evening, will make it difficult to run errands or commute to and from work.