Texas Department of Motor Vehicles bans oversized, overweight trucks for solar eclipse

Dallas prepares for eclipse traffic, crowds

To avoid gridlock the Dallas Office of Emergency Management encourages employers to treat April 8 like a snow day, with only essential workers heading into the office.

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles has banned the transportation of oversized and overweight trucks on April 8 for counties in the path of the total solar eclipse.

The restrictions will start at midnight on April 8 and continue until midnight on April 9.

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles says the restrictions are due to expected traffic delays from the solar eclipse.

Nearly all of North Texas is included in the list of restricted counties.

The Texas Department of Transportation says they have been preparing for two years for how to handle the crush of traffic.

270,000 to 1.1 million people are expected to visit Texas for the eclipse, according to estimates reported by the Texas Comptroller.

Hertz has reported a 3,000% increase over last year in advance bookings for eclipse path cities for that Saturday.

In 2017, some drivers on rural roads were stuck on the side of the road for hours.

TxDMV says anyone with questions about the restrictions should contact the TxDMV Permit Office at 1-800-299-1700.