Virginia Roads Hammered By Eclipse Traffic

Virginia may have been two states away from the "band of totality" during Monday's solar eclipse, but the state's main north-south highways were choked with eclipse travelers from as far away as Canada.

And the traffic problems started as early Friday, according to at least one user on Twitter reporting "miles and miles of traffic" near Roanoke on Interstate 81.

The "band of totality" stretched through the length of South Carolina, from Greenville to Columbia all the way to Charleston, which is where many travelers were headed on Virginia highways. Others may have been on their way to Nashville.

Twitter users reported that the interstates had been turned into a parking lot the weekend before the big day, with license plates from New York, Connecticut, and even Ontario.

An estimated 7.4 million headed to the 70-mile-wide track where the moon completely blocked the sun, which spanned from Oregon to South Carolina. It was the first coast-to-coast solar eclipse in the United States in 99 years.

People shared their Virginia driving experiences on Twitter, including pictures of traffic backed up for miles and miles.

Parking lot on I-81 in Virginia from #Eclipse traffic, jammin' with Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Call Me Maybe' on the radio. Good times ! #roadtrip pic.twitter.com/GFHzzFn7xH
— Andy Fan (@fanacabana) August 20, 2017

Definitely beginning to feel the eclipse traffic pinch in Virginia. 81 has been steadily congested, now the waves of stop-and-go are coming. pic.twitter.com/RmTyMbWTmC
— Matt Dunphy (@leviathant) August 20, 2017

Don't mention Virginia to me. I have been stuck in Virginia all day due to eclipse traffic on I-81.
— Samuel Avery-Quinn (@samaveryquinn) August 19, 2017

Solar eclipse traffic here in Roanoke Virginia on interstate 81 south. Miles and miles of traffic @amelia_draper @laurynricketts @WTOP pic.twitter.com/472u4L5pQv
— steve nash (@stevenash35) August 18, 2017

Image via Rhett Sutphin