KERRVILLE, Texas – Kerr County officials are warning residents to be prepared for traffic congestion and potential cell service disruptions as throngs of sky-gazers prepare to descend on the area for the April 8 total eclipse.
Kerrville is considered one of the best places to view the eclipse because the area will experience totality for nearly 4.5 minutes and typically has less cloud cover than other areas of the country that will be in totality.
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Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly issued a disaster declaration in anticipation of impacted local resources and an influx of visitors to the area.
The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office and Kerrville Police Departments have posted tips and traffic information on their social media pages.
Traffic congestion is expected to be the biggest issue for the area on April 8.
“If you are a local and need to travel, consider taking alternate routes that make use of highways other than Highway 27 and Highway 16, which will be moving thousands of visitors in and out of our community,” the Sheriff’s Office advised.
No road closures are planned in Kerr County except in the immediate area of Louise Hays Park. TXDOT will be adjusting Sidney Baker Street lanes to accommodate outbound traffic. The park will be closed to vehicle traffic from Thursday, April 4 to Tuesday, April 9. You can view the specific traffic safety plan for the area around the park on KPD’s Facebook page.
KCSO urged residents to plan ahead for items that may be needed that day. Due to high demand, cellular service could be affected, and credit card processing could be interrupted.
“If you plan to visit a local business on Monday, please verify their open hours before going,” KCSO advised.
They also urged people not to make emergency service calls unless there is a serious threat to life and property.
Trying to get to Kerrville? KCSO suggested the following routes for visitors:
- For those coming from south of Kerrville, the fastest way to the Interstate will be via Highway 173 to Camp Verde and then east on Highway 27 to Comfort.
- For those coming from west of Ingram, the fastest way to the Interstate will be via taking Highway 27 in Ingram west to Highway 41, then to the Interstate.
You can get more information about how Kerrville is preparing for the eclipse on this website.
KSAT is your official Eclipse Authority station, and we will have a crew in Kerrville on April 8.
Our day-of coverage will start with GMSA on KSAT-TV and then an eclipse livestream with the KSAT meteorologists from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. that you can watch wherever you are by using the KSAT weather app on your phone. It will also be available to watch on KSAT.com and the KSAT+ streaming app.
You’ll also be able to watch a feed of the eclipse itself in case you’re not in the viewing area of totality, can’t get outside, or don’t have the necessary viewing glasses.
KSAT already has a lot of good eclipse information online, including an interactive map to find your local time for eclipse viewing, details on some public viewing events and information about how to protect your eyes during eclipse viewing.
Have questions about the event? You can submit them here.