ROCHESTER, N.Y. — On Monday, April 8, the skies over Rochester will go dark at 3:20 p.m. as the moon casts its shadow over the entire sun.

The Rochester area is in the path of totality for the total solar eclipse and half a million people or more are expected visit the area. New York State Police is preparing for an increase in crowds. Hotels in Rochester and Niagara Falls are booked and roads are expected to be backed up with traffic.

“We want to make sure that people are safe as possible during that two hour span of time,” said New York State Trooper James O’Callaghan. “The totality of darkness will be about four minutes just, a quarter after three, so what we wanna make sure is people aren’t driving while looking at something like that, pulling off on the road in an unsafe area and get hit by a car.”

State Police are working with the State Department of Transportation and Thruway Authority to keep people informed and safe.