The police chief in Wrentham, Massachusetts, is warning of three-plus hour waits and urging shoppers to avoid the Wrentham Outlets on the afternoon of Black Friday.
"STOP. IF YOU ARE TRYING TO DRIVE TO THE #WRENTHAMOUTLETS, DO NOT BOTHER. THEY WILL BE CLOSED BEFORE YOU CAN GET THROUGH TRAFFIC. WAITS EXCEED THREE HOURS. 495 AND SURROUNDING ROADS ARE JAMMED. TRY ANOTHER DAY," Wrentham Police Chief Bill McGrath said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, just before 5 p.m.
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The Wrentham Outlets close at 9 p.m. on Friday.
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McGrath had warned of hours long delays throughout the day.
WJAR reported traffic backups of at least an hour earlier on Friday.
McGrath told the station that the traffic was "definitely" worse than last year.
"We can never predict how this place goes," he said. "And we are always shocked that we don't have far more road rage incidents and crashes than we do."
Some local streets had to be blocked off by police to keep motorists from driving through neighborhoods.
