MANCHESTER, Tenn. (AP) - State transportation officials pledge to minimize traffic delays as much as possible on Interstate 24 near Manchester during the four-day Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival beginning Thursday.
Gates open at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Attendance is expected to be up to 80,000, creating potential traffic congestion.
For the first time, the speed limit on I-24 in the festival area is being reduced to 55 mph. Festival traffic will be kept in the right lane or on the shoulder of the interstate, allowing through traffic to use the left lane unimpeded.
Festival promoters have alerted the trucking industry and others about festival times and alternate routes.
State troopers will be on the job 24 hours a day beginning Wednesday night, patrolling on the ground and by air.
Temporary communication towers are in place to improve emergency communications.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
