MAINE, USA — Thousands of people are visiting Maine for Monday's solar eclipse, and the traffic is reflecting that.
"Leading up to the eclipse, we saw one-hour delays between Skowhegan and Jackman. Western parts of the state experienced traffic that was between 10 and 20 times normal levels. Traffic was 10 to 12 times normal levels north of Bangor," the Maine Department of Transportation said in a social media post Monday afternoon.
Now that totality is over in Maine, many people will be leaving popular viewing locations. People arrived at these locations at staggered times, but officials were preparing for a mass exodus at some of the popular viewing spots.
The New England 511 website provides real-time road and weather conditions, links to live cameras, construction alerts, traffic warnings, and more.
Maine was one of the best spots in the country to view the total solar eclipse, as it's in the path of totality and there was little to no cloud coverage.
Around noon Monday, NEWS CENTER Maine viewer Bryan shared video from the Katahdin scenic outlook on Route 11 in Patten, where parked vehicles could be seen lining both sides of the roadway.
The Aroostook County Emergency Management Agency also posted these photos Monday morning from Route 11 in Patten.
Shortly before noon Monday, New Hampshire State Police shared a video of northbound traffic delays towards Maine.
In a 10:45 a.m. update, the Piscataquis County Emergency Management Agency said traffic was beginning to back up in Dover, Abbott, Monson, and Greenville.
Around 11:30 a.m., the University of Maine Farmington Campus Police Department also shared traffic photos, saying they're seeing a significant increase in motor vehicle traffic in that area.
To view Maine and New Hampshire traffic updates in real-time, click here.