An out-of-town crowd of up to 100,000 is expected to converge on Waco on April 8 to watch the moon blacken the sun, with many of them coming from Texas’ largest city outside the path of the total solar eclipse.
Waco tourism officials say Houston, with a metro population of 7.1 million, will be a major source of Waco’s visitation on the big day and preceding weekend, with State Highway 6 becoming the yellow brick road.
The drive time between the cities on a good day is less than three hours, measured from Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston to McLane Stadium in Waco, where the Eclipse Over Texas event is planned on April 8. Austin and Temple are about the same distance, but no major town in the path of the eclipse is closer than Waco.
Transportation officials expect heavy eclipse day traffic between Houston and Waco on State Highway 6, seen here at Riesel.
Waco’s Conventions and Tourism Director Dan Quandt said Houston leads in advance hotel bookings for the busy eclipse weekend. For Sunday night, more than 90% of hotels and short-term rentals are booked, he said.
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Carla Pendergraft, assistant tourism director, said she monitors eclipse-related Facebook groups that indicate interest in Houston. She encourages Houston residents to be realistic in their travel time estimates.
“Yes, many people are stating they plan to drive from Houston to Waco and back on April 8. They ask how early they should leave, and my answer is the day before at the very latest,” she said. “Even better would be to come for the weekend to enjoy all the great music and festivities in Waco.
“Based on what I have read, I believe there is a very good chance that many people will set out early on Monday,” Pendergraft said. “Some will make it to Waco on time, and some will not. Some will take Highway 6, others will take 45 to 84. Either way, many others will have the same idea.
Transportation officials expect heavy eclipse day traffic between Houston and Waco on State Highway 6, seen here at Riesel.
“The latest projection is still the same — approximately 100,000 visitors in Waco that day. We can’t predict how many there will be, but that is what we are all preparing for. Yes, I believe the city is well prepared.”
The website eclipse2024.org says Houston residents “will see a respectable partial eclipse, with some amount of sky darkening. But there will be no corona, no totality, and no dramatic moments on eclipse day … It’s true that ‘close’ just isn’t close enough when it comes to a total eclipse.”
Waco’s appeal as an eclipse destination goes beyond state and even national borders.
Houston is first place in hotel bookings but “is followed by communities around Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Denver, New York City, Atlanta and San Jose,” said Quandt. “All fifty states are represented, plus eight foreign countries: Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Great Britain, Japan and New Zealand.”
“On a normal Waco day, eight of our top 10 visiting cities are from Texas,” said Quandt, noting April 8 is far from ordinary.
State officials have estimated that about 1 million people will travel to Texas bent on watching the sun and moon play hide-and-seek. Noted economist Ray Perryman released a report Friday predicting $427 million in direct eclipse-related spending, $1.4 billion when applying a multiplier.
Every transaction contributes to that staggering figure.
“We’re expecting a lot of people here, with the lake right down the road. It’s going to get crowded,” said Ram Patel, who runs A&H Short Stop on Old Hallsburg Road, a stone’s throw from Highway 6 and Tradinghouse Lake.
“Some part of my family will be here to help, just in case. You can’t find employees to work that one day,” said Patel, whose place routinely stays busy serving drop-ins from Waco and Marlin, and travelers driving Highway 6 up from Bryan-College Station and Houston. Patel operates a kitchen where he cooks up legendary hamburgers, hotdogs and steak fingers.
“I probably will run specials,” said Patel. He said a neighbor will allow parking on his 40 acres to those needing a spot to stop and gaze safely.
The state “is working with its industry partners to minimize traffic disruptions during the eclipse event, including no temporary construction lane closures,” said Jake Smith, Waco spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation. “TxDOT is expecting major traffic impacts, especially on major corridors in the path of the eclipse. It is important for everyone to plan ahead and expect an increase in travel time.”
Smith added, “To motorists, do not stop on the highway and do not park on the shoulder to view the eclipse. Keep your eyes on the road during the eclipse. Do not wear solar eclipse glasses while driving.”
Smith said TxDOT is not allowing contractors to work on Monday, April 8, though they are allowed to work on April 9.
Ryan Dirker, coordinator for Waco-McLennan County Office of Emergency Management, said he has heard horror stories about the 2017 partial eclipse and the long lines and short tempers it produced as people languished in traffic jams. Local cities and the county are working overtime to prevent such an occurrence.
“Waco and McLennan County both are forward-leaning, determined to get people through the area, both coming here and passing through,” Dirker said. “We don’t want people spending hours and hours sitting in traffic.
Working in Texas’ favor, said Dirker, is its “robust highway structure.”
Leaving nearly nothing to chance, the city has placed 21 solar-powered surveillance stations across the city to troubleshoot snafus.
“Leading up to the eclipse, those involved in public safety want absolute situational awareness,” Dirker said in a phone interview. “Trailers have been brought in to help those that serve maintain that awareness. These have been pre-stationed at strategic points within a wide swath of the city, offering the best picture of what traffic impacts need addressing.”
He said Waco has employed this technology before — at Ironman events, for example — but never on this scale. Testing and trial runs continue.
“It is chiefly important that residents of the city know we take privacy seriously,” Dirker said. “We’re not running any intrusive system, we’re not monitoring license plates. The feed goes directly to the emergency center. It is not recorded, stored, or anything like that.”
The eclipse is a big deal even in Bryan-College Station, which is technically out of the path of totality. Lina Adams, PR and communications coordinator at Destination Bryan, told the Bryan-College Eagle that hotel bookings are strong for that weekend, and local officials have organized eclipse-related events.
“What’s great about our community is we are located within a short drive to those totality locations,” she told the Eagle. “And, here in (Bryan and College Station), we’re in about 95% of totality.”
