It's the morning of the total solar eclipse. Are there traffic issues in Erie region?

The anticipated influx of thousands of visitors into the Erie area for today's solar eclipse hasn't led to any notable traffic issues in the region on Monday morning.

In fact, according to Pennsylvania State Police Captain Kirk Reese, traffic was lighter than normal along the region's interstates Monday morning. Reese, commander of state police Troop E in Lawrence Park Township, said he expected that, as schools are not in session, some businesses are closed and many took off work to witness the eclipse.

There was a light increase in traffic on area interstates over the weekend, Reese said, and he said the hotels he passed on his drive Monday morning were full of cars.

More: How long will Interstate 90 rest stop in Springfield Township be closed for renovations?

In Erie, police weren't seeing any signs of large crowds gathering for the afternoon eclipse as of Monday morning, Police Chief Dan Spizarny said. The same was true in North East, where Chief Sean Lam said traffic volume was also lower than normal on Monday morning; and in Edinboro, where Chief Landon Silva had extra patrols working at night over the weekend to handle any issues that did not arise.

"We're hoping for the best, preparing for the worst," Silva said Monday.

The Girard Police Department also put extra officers on duty to keep traffic moving and to handle any issues. There was a little bit of an increase in traffic over the weekend, but nothing that was not manageable, Chief Kevin Rafferty said Monday.

Lake City Police Chief David Wierzchowski said he drove home along Interstate 79 in heavier than expected traffic as he returned from an event in Pittsburgh on Sunday. But there wasn't much traffic in the borough on Monday morning, he said.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Solar eclipse in Erie PA: Checking traffic morning of celestial event