With the solar eclipse less than two weeks away, residents are being reminded the expected large crowds will likely affect traffic - for your car and for your cellphone.
The eclipse will take place at 1:15 p.m. Aug. 21, and the city expects to draw 10,000-50,000 visitors.
With the expected influx of visitors, the Missouri Highway Patrol is telling motorists to plan their trips accordingly, because traffic patterns will be affected.
Patrol officials are offering some basic tips:
Don't stop along roads with high volumes of traffic or park on the shoulder.
Find a safe location to view the event and get there early.
Prepare for extra congestion, especially on high volume roads, on the day before, day of and day after the eclipse.
Watch out for increased pedestrian traffic along smaller roads. People may randomly park and walk alongside roads in the hour before the total eclipse to get the best viewing.
Avoid travel during the eclipse or in the area of the path of totality if you can.
Never wear eclipse glasses when driving a car or operating a boat.
If you have planned a day on the water during the eclipse, make sure your boat has the proper lighting as swimmers will be hard to see as the eclipse occurs.
Area cellphone service providers said they are fine tuning their towers as they get ready for high volumes of users during the solar eclipse in less than two weeks.
U.S. Cellular said their engineers are monitoring 24 hours a day to see what needs to be done so there is no disruption in service on eclipse day.
"At large events such as this, we usually see a spike in text and data usage more than voice, so we are also looking at how we can prioritize services that are most important to our customers," engineering manager Shawn Holcom said.
"While we don't anticipate problems with voice calls or texts, if there is a large number of people trying to livestream their experience, it could impact data speeds for accessing certain apps. With that in mind, we recommend that people be prepared and plan ahead, for example by downloading directions in advance."
Paula Doublin, assistant vice president for construction and engineering for AT&T, added, "We're expecting a good experience, but there will be times at peak where the network will struggle."
AT&T will deploy portable cell towers in Columbia, Owensville and Washington.
T-Mobile will also be boosting coverage in places by expanding its network capabilities and deploying temporary towers.
"It is very much akin to a national championship week that occurs with the NCAA or pro sports, except it's happening in a 3,000-mile-long band," Doublin said.
Sprint and Verizon Wireless said recent network enhancements have reduced the need for deployment of temporary cell towers at large-scale events like the eclipse. But if they do determine they are needed, they could still bring in portable towers.