Welcome to Bonnaroo 2019: Traffic at festival entrance adding nearly 12 hours to drive time

MANCHESTER - Bonnaroovians making their way into festival grounds should expect heavy vehicle traffic, according to state and local law enforcement.

Gates to the four-day Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival opened late Wednesday afternoon and some attendees reported waiting in line for up to 12 hours.

So far no major incidents have been reported along Interstate 24; mid-Thursday afternoon, a long, single-lane line of traffic on I-24 west had some traffic backed up past the Manchester exit. I-24 east did not appear to have a backup, the Tennessee Department of Transportation said.

Pockets of Route 41, a road that runs parallel to the interstate are also clogged.

"We have heavy traffic for Bonnaroo every year," Tennessee Highway Patrol Sgt. Alan Bailey said Thursday. "This morning I was advised that the interstate has the right shoulder west bound with cars waiting to get in the event."

Thursday morning Bonnaroo organizers took to twitter and asked festival attendees in vehicles on Route 41 to follow law enforcement direction and turn south on AEDC Road to I-24 west.

Baily said that on Wednesday night, Bonnaroo shut its gates for a stint due to inclement weather.

"Last night that area had lightning storms come through," Bailey said. "Bonnaroo shut down the gates because of this, in order to insure the safety of their workers."

About midnight Wednesday, traffic along I-24 and Route 41 was backed up for about 20 miles south of Manchester, TDOT reported.

Traffic headed south from Nashville did not appear to be affected at that hour.

While thousands of Bonnaroo festival goers were able to make it into festival grounds without any major waits last night, others took to social media to describe hours-long wait time in traffic.

"It’s now been almost 12 hours of sitting in line in our car. We wasted half a tank of gas and I witnessed multiple people almost falling asleep at the wheel," Briana Rinaldo of Charlotte tweeted. "We are almost at 24 hours straight. This is so not okay. I hope you’ve learned a lot from this, @Bonnaroo (@LiveNation)."

"I drove for 17 hours yesterday...10 of those being in traffic," vannaoffthewall tweeted.

But others say the wait should be expected.

"It took 16 hours in 2002 to get from Murfreesboro to The entry gate. Accept it or don't. Bonnaroo always has bad traffic going in," M.C. DoomSnake tweeted in response.

In a statement released Thursday, Bonnaroo said the weather delay added to wait times.

"Our weather protocol requires that we suspend all entries and exits during threatening weather conditions," organizers wrote. "We have several enhanced security measures in place this year, including expanded car searches and canine patrols. We are hopeful that our patrons will appreciate these security measures and have patience with the inevitable inconveniences."

Organizers said Thursday they are working with state and local authorities to "manage the traffic and improve wait times."

They are also asking people to follow signs and signals from staff to get to the Bonnaroo gates.

Manchester Police Chief Mark Yoder recommends patrons keep their place in line rather than looking for alternate routes as they will be turned away from any roads other than the official entry points.

“We all want the same thing — to get patrons on site safely," Yoder said. "My best advice: stay in line, be patient, and cooperate with the staff at entry points.”

“Don’t let your technology get you off course” added Coffee County Sheriff Chad Partin. “Follow the directions you have been provided or you will likely experience longer delays.”

Late Wednesday night, Bonnaroo organizers confirmed the festival was sold out. With 80,000 attendees, it's the festival's first sellout since 2013, when Beatles great Paul McCartney headlined.

Just two hours before announcing the sell out, Bonnaroo tweeted tickets were running low and encouraged anyone wanting to attend to buy them ASAP.

This year's Bonnaroo which runs through Sunday is headlined by Phish, Childish Gambino and Post Malone, but co-founder Ashley Capps said the festival was seeing an uptick in sales before the lineup was even announced.

This is a developing story.

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Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.