With more than 65,000 people expected to attend Manchester, Tennessee’s four-day Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival starting Thursday, state transportation officials and troopers will join forces with local agencies to make sure festivalgoers make it to their destination safely.
There is always increased traffic around Manchester during the festival, and state authorities will work with the Manchester Police Department, Manchester Fire and Rescue, Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, Coffee County Emergency Management Agency and festival promoters, according to a statement issued Monday by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
“TDOT has once again coordinated with our agency partners to ensure safe and efficient travel during the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival,” transportation Commissioner Butch Eley said in the statement. “The main objective is to keep through traffic moving smoothly on I-24 while getting festivalgoers safely into and out of the Bonnaroo site. Because of this advance planning, we believe we can successfully minimize traffic delays throughout the weekend.”
The festival, one of the most popular live music events in the country since 2002, has made its home on a 700-acre Middle Tennessee farm that becomes the temporary abode for thousands of music fans from across the country until Sunday. Many travelers are unfamiliar with traffic patterns, and the state will have its Help trucks on standby to assist with traffic management during the festival and aid anyone who needs help, according to agency spokeswoman Rae Anne Bradley.
More than 100 acts will perform over the four days, and rapper Kendrick Lamar, electronica duo Odesza and rock band Foo Fighters will headline the final three nights, according to Bonnaroo officials.
The National Weather Service forecast for the Manchester area calls for a 30% chance of rain Thursday after 11 a.m. CDT, and otherwise mostly sunny with a high of 84. Friday is forecast to be mostly sunny with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. CDT and a high near 87. Saturday’s and Sunday’s forecasts call for a 30% and 60% chance of rain, respectively, with highs around 86 or 87, according to the federal agency.
Exit 111 for state Highway 55 will be used as the main festival exit, Bradley said in the statement. Alternate exits will be used if the interstate becomes congested. Maintenance crews will be posted throughout the festival region, and personnel will be on call all weekend, she said.
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For drivers passing through Chattanooga on Thursday on the way to the festival, backups can be expected at the Interstate 75/I-24 west interchange known as the split, primarily during the morning and afternoon rush. Traffic taking I-24 west toward Manchester could see delays between Chattanooga and the interchange at Interstate 59.
Variable message signs will be in place to warn drivers of delays, but there will be no construction-related lane closures on I-24 near the festival between 6 a.m. CDT Wednesday and 7 p.m. CDT Monday, TDOT said. Median crossovers will be guarded to prevent motorists from parking in the crossovers and blocking emergency vehicles.
Festival traffic will be kept in the right lane and/or on the shoulder of the interstate, allowing through traffic to use the left travel lane unimpeded, according to Bradley. Emergency vehicles will use county roads that will be kept at a low volume, and temporary communication towers will be in place to improve emergency communications.
Drivers who need assistance from a state trooper while traveling anywhere in Tennessee can dial *THP — *847 — from a cellphone. They will be automatically connected to the nearest Highway Patrol dispatch office, and the operator will send a state trooper to their location, according to TDOT.
Motorists are urged to check the state’s SmartWay traffic cameras and map for live traffic situations at TNSmartWay.com/Traffic.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.