Miami Gardens residents brace for gridlock ahead of big game
A barber who goes by O'Neal says cutting and trimming hair is all about volume.
With thousands of people expected in Miami Gardens for the college football national championship between Miami and Indiana, O'Neal doesn't think fans will squeeze in a haircut before heading to the stadium. The barbershop has signs saying it's open seven days a week, but for next week…
"I don't even think we should be open that day, honestly," O'Neal said.
O'Neal says traffic can turn a simple errand into a small road trip anytime there's a major event at the stadium.
"Normally, it takes about 15 minutes. It's gonna run you about 45 minutes to an hour," O'Neal said.
Residents rushing to finish errands
Many shoppers in a small strip mall by the stadium said they were getting errands and shopping done early so they can hunker down.
Cortes Lewis-James says she'll be skipping town. She went to Dallas for the long weekend.
"I have a good friend named Eric from high school that is a die hard um fan. He was like hey. We there. I was like, we gone," James-Lewis said.
Leaving town to avoid gridlock
Lewis-James lives near Hard Rock Stadium and says she has seen enough big events to know how stressful it is to get around. She plans to watch a potential piece of Miami history from about 1,300 miles away.
"It's just a lot going on. You got heavy traffic. Lots of heavy traffic. There are gonna be people from across the globe and traffic is gonna be gridlocked," Lewis-James said.
Lewis-James says she won't rent out her house. She'll only let friends and family use it for parking when they go to the game. She plans to stay in Texas until Wednesday.