Thousands of shoppers expected at Wrentham outlets for Black Friday shopping

(WJAR) — Thousands of shoppers are expected at the Wrentham outlets on Friday.

With deals of up to 65% off, the area is expected to get very crowed

NBC 10 News crew observed many shoppers lined up outside before the shops opened at 6 a.m.

Both police and outlet staff are trying to avoid a repeat of last year, where there was a major traffic backup on I-495 and surrounding roads as residents hit the road for Black Friday shopping.

Cars on the roads leading into the outlets were moving slowly or at a dead stop on and off for hours.

Here’s what the outlets are doing to help.

“Driving in we set up roadblocks and cones to protect people driving out of the lanes that they’re in and PD is also very active here and monitoring road patrol and road,” Ashley Feldhouse, the director of marketing at Wrentham Village Premium Outlets said.

Police say they will also be ready monitoring the roads, but they do have a message.

“In the end you’re going to try to fit way more people in a spot then it was designed for, it’s going to take patience, lots of patience and the expectation that you could be backed up for a very long time,” Wrentham Police Chief Bill McGrath said.

If you are heading out for the rush today there will be extra parking attendants to guide traffic and a new employee lot to leave more room for shoppers.