(NECN: Alysha Palumbo, Bourne, MA) - As Hurricane Irene barrels up the east coast, Cape Cod is watching her closely to see just how bad the weather is expected to get here.
And the biggest concern, as always with summer storms, especially during the weekend, is traffic at the bridges.
"I just think people have to not wait until the last minute and just be smart about it and don't panic and just do what you've got to do," said Keith Lucchesi, who's leaving the Cape Friday.
When asked if he thought that would actually happen he said, "No, not at all, people are crazy."
"There's really no way around it because a lot of people they don't care about the weather, they're going to come to the cape," said John Bilodeau, who works on the Cape.
And that's why emergency management officials have to prepare just in case Irene makes a direct hit.
"So there had to be developed a plan to control all of the other accesses other than route 6 or route 28 to go across the bridge, and to allow people to have a good, clear shot to get across there," said Bourne Emergency Management Director Charles Noyes.
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The Cape Cod Emergency Traffic Plan was put in place after Hurricane Edouard backed up traffic 40 miles on the cape.
Phase one shuts down smaller back roads and funnels all traffic off the cape, blocking the Bourne Bridge rotary to prevent cross traffic, and forcing traffic to instead cross between route 6 and route 28 further east on route 130.
Phase two is for sustained gusts of more than 70 to 75 miles per hour, where both bridges would be shut down, with traffic stopped at exit 2 on route six and the Otis Rotary on route 28.
"It's never been tested before and never been utilized before so of course, so if it is put into place and activated this time, we'll find out how well it does work," said Noyes.
