States and localities experiencing totality have had months, if not longer, to plan for this. What in tarnation have they been doing??
[What in tarnation have they been doing??]
Demonstrating and rioting against PRESIDENT TRUMP.
They’ve done a lot. Adding 6-lane highways wasn’t in the cards, strangely enough.
The majority of places along the path of totality are not major metropolitan areas. There's a single road in/out, usually two lanes. According to my folks, who live about 40 miles south of Weiser, ID (where the path of totality will enter Idaho), the mayor and police force of Weiser have actually stated that folks need to be prepared for taking care of themselves. Weiser is a tiny little berg with a main road (US 95 - one lane each direction until it gets into town, then two each way) and very little in the way of services/accommodations. Basically, the local authorities were recommending tents/small RVs, bring own water, etc...
There's only so much tiny towns with tiny budgets can do. They certainly don't have funds nor reason to try and build better access/facilities for a one-time event.
This is Eastern Oregon where most of the highways mentioned are glorified county roads.