Music festival backs up Interstate 24 traffic for miles

MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE - Georgians planning a trip up Interstate 75 to Chattanooga and then I-24 on up to Nashville should be prepared for bigtime traffic jams this weekend. <br> <br> A three-day outdoor music festival in Manchester tied up traffic on Interstate 24 for miles. <br> <br> Promoters of the Bonnaroo music festival said 70,000 tickets were sold for the event being held on a 500-acre farm near Manchester, about halfway between Nashville and Chattanooga. Up to 60,000 vehicles were expected to try to get to the festival. <br> <br> Gates opened Thursday to accommodate the crowds but the traffic tie-up began during late afternoon and was still jamming the interstate for miles Friday morning. <br> <br> The traffic was worse on eastbound I-24, and the Department of Safety advised motorists traveling to get off in Murfreesboro, 30 miles away. <br> <br> Bonnaroo is featuring acts that get little radio play but have a huge following on the Internet and the concert circuit. Among scheduled performers are Widespread Panic, Ben Harper, Phish singer and guitarist Trey Anastasio and former Grateful Dead members Phil Lesh and Bob Weir. <br> <br> Promoters said most of the ticket-buyers were from Georgia, Illinois and Tennessee. <br> <br> The festival ends Sunday.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/6/202097