Rain and mud didn't stop the Firefly Festival from getting underway in Dover Thursday afternoon, but they did create some traffic snafus earlier in the day.
DelDOT's Gene Donaldson says the checkpoint for the first festival parking lot off Route 1 had "a problem with mud" Thursday morning.
"We had to close that and shift traffic to another entrance," said Donaldson. "But really we've not been that far behind; in fact, we've caught up again and there's limited delay coming into the event."
Donaldson is is keeping an eye on Firefly arrivals from the state's Traffic Management Center in Smyrna. He says here haven't been any major accidents on the Route 1 and 13 thoroughfares.
"Before they hit their first backup, they are in sight of the Speedway, which is right at the event location," he said Thursday afternoon. "It's actually still working pretty good even with the bad weather."
But he expects Friday to be busier, as attendees come in for the first full day of music.
Ninety thousand people total are set to attend the four-day festival, which runs through Sunday.
And by 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon, more than a thousand fans were already lined up waiting to get in the grounds when the gates opened at 5 pm. The first music acts take the stage Thursday afternoon at 5:30, including Dover hip-hop trio Cypher Clique. Newark indie pop bandFiancéplay Friday at 12:45 pm.
Paul McCartney headlines Friday’s bill with Kings of Leon and The Killers featured Saturday and Sunday.