News

Actions

Fourth on the Brazos goes smoothly with no major issues

Fourth on the Brazos goes smoothly with no major issues
Fourth on the Brazos goes smoothly with no major issues
Posted at 6:57 PM, Jul 04, 2016
and last updated 2018-07-24 21:30:17-04

An annual Fourth of July event in Waco went smoothly without major issues reported, according to Police.

Up to 15,000 people were expected to attend the Fourth on the Brazos event at Touchdown Alley next to McLane Stadium. Police said a larger crowd attended the event this year.

Waco police, Baylor police and the McLennan County Sheriff's Office teamed up for the holiday to make sure the community was safe at the event.

"This is a big deal for us. We want our citizens to come out and enjoy Waco," Waco Police Spokesman Sgt. Patrick Swanton said. "When you come [to the event], make sure you bring patience with you because there's going to be a lot of cars, a lot of traffic. So we just ask people to relax a little bit and go with the flow."

Parking, was offered near McLane Stadium and other areas of the Baylor Campus with the stadium lots filling up before 8:30 p.m. 

Waco Police said the traffic was what they expected with no major delays.

Waco Resident Tommy Burns Jr. who watched the fireworks show with his sister and her children from the Ferrell Center said he expected for it to be harder to park.

"Even though there are a lot of people here, there are a lot of empty spaces so there is no problem at all," Burns said. "I anticipated it would be more of a hassle to get here but it really wasn't."

His family has the tradition of watching the fireworks show in Waco. 

"It's good to be around all this people to celebrate our nation's birthday. It's good to be out here with the family, get paid to have a day off of work and have some fun," Burns said.

The most significant traffic slow down of the night occurred around 6 p.m. when there were three separate crashes on interstate 35 near the Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

News Channel 25's Estephany Escobar contributed to this report.

Copyright 2016 KXXV. All rights reserved.