NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Monday evening, hundreds of cars were left stranded for hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic near Nashville International Airport.

Some travelers decided to take matters into their own hands, carrying luggage on foot from the interstate.

"It was bumper to bumper," Nashville resident Marshall Welch described. "Everyone was honking."

"Miles and miles and miles of cars standing there," Nashville resident Kate Morrissey said.

Around 2 p.m. on Monday, traffic at BNA began to back up. It quickly turned into a nightmare, forcing some travelers to take matters into their own hands.

"We started walking," Morrissey said. "We had checked bag, two carry-ons, backpacks, the whole thing, and here we were trekking down Dickerson Pike."

"There were other people walking alongside us and behind us, and we were all just trying to figure it out together because nobody was really helping us," Morrissey described.

Others waited for hours for rideshares to reach them.

One man told News 2 that he walked over to meet his driver and then sat in the garage traffic.

"It probably took him about 30 to 40 minutes to get to us," Welch said. "We landed at one o'clock, and we didn't get home until after 3 p.m., and we are only 15 minutes from the airport."

BNA officials said several factors led to the traffic, including an "unprecedented surge" in rideshare demand that leaders said was approximately 2.5 times greater than normal levels over 11 hours.

The shared data explained how, on a typical Monday, they see around 6,000 vehicles, but on Monday, they had more than 14,000.

The airport listed a large number of NFL fans who were departing as another factor.

The Autodesk Convention was also a factor. Airport officials said the convention drew approximately 10,000 attendees, of whom an estimated 50% arrived by air. Another factor was the Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics conference with 2,200 attendees, approximately 60% departing by air.

Monday was also the first day of lane closures at the nearby Donelson Pike diverging diamond interchange. However, TDOT said its construction had no impact.

TDOT officials told News 2 crews had finished work before the backup began.

"The lack of understanding didn't help the passengers arriving and departing from BNA," Morrissey said.

"Especially if they want to have a Super Bowl here and they are trying to get a Super Bowl here," Welch said. "This was a Monday in Nashville, there was nothing major happening in the area, so if they can't control that on a weekday when nothing is happening, how are they going to control getting big conventions or getting big concerts?"

BNA said the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority has started an after-action review to determine what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again.

In the meantime, one traveler said he is changing his travel habits and plans to arrive at BNA three hours early from now on.

"Definitely leave early," Welch said. "Give yourself time, even if you have to wait at your gate. I would rather sit there so you are not missing your flight than to be in the traffic or walking out in the sun because a lot of people were doing that, too."

Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell's office responded to our request for a comment, saying they heard it was an "atypical" day at the airport. He also added, "We're hard at work on Choose How You Move, and the airport will be a critical partner as we increase transit service to make it easier for Nashvillians and our visitors to get to and from BNA."

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/surge-in-rideshares-nfl-fans-conventions-caused-bna-gridlock-airport-says/