SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – It has been over a century since Notre Dame hosted a home football game on Friday night and it is expected to impact rush hour traffic in the South Bend area.

To prepare for the expected influx of visitors to Michigan, local law enforcement held a news conference Wednesday afternoon to talk about what to expect on the streets.

Keep in mind that traffic around campus will be heavy throughout the day. Specifically, Douglas Road will be one-way in the hours leading up to the game, running east from campus to Ironwood Road.

St. Joseph County authorities urge you to avoid using Douglas Road on game day if possible.

“For many people living in Chicago or Ohio, it would probably be best to take the toll road starting at the 83 mile marker, located in Granger at the entrance to Capital (Avenue) and Beacon Parkway,” says He is Cpl. Aris Lee of the St. Joseph County Police Department. “That being said, there will also be a lot of holiday traffic.”

Cleveland Road was also suggested as an alternative route on match day.

South Bend police also say traffic patterns on the streets closest to campus will change shortly before and shortly after the game.

“Streets that are near campus during inbound traffic will become one-way toward campus, and after the game, with our outbound traffic, all of those streets will be converted to one-way toward outbound traffic,” Lt. Brad Rohrscheib South Bend Police Department.

South Bend Police say the inbound traffic restriction will be in effect from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m

To put it briefly: If your evening commute typically takes you past campus and you are NOT attending the games/festivities, you should find an alternate route home. And if you don’t have to drive on Friday, police recommend avoiding the roads completely.