University of Alabama officials are encouraging fans attending the Tide’s first home football game of the season on Saturday to arrive early because of construction on the interstate and stadium security upgrades.

“Everyone that is coming into town, if you haven’t been to Tuscaloosa in the last six months, construction on I-20/59 between mile marker 77 and 73 is something they really need to be aware of,” said Nick Frenz, UA assistant director of transportation event management. “Take it easy through there before and after the game.”

Other than roadwork and new metal detectors, the game-day experience will be much the same, Frenz said. There will be no new detours on campus, he said.

The Tide will play the Arkansas State University Red Wolves at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The stadium gates will open at noon on Saturday. The game will be the first with walk-through metal detectors at the stadium gates.

“I really recommend people get over there as soon as they can. People need to be aware of what gate number they are supposed to go in,” Frenz said. “Keep an eye on that on their ticket. Because if you get in and it is not the right gate, you will have to go back out and go through security again, so please keep tabs on that.”

UA purchased 180 metal detectors early this summer. The plan for the fall is to use 164 at the entry gates to ensure lines moved quickly and 16 for additional follow-up screenings when visitors set off the detectors more than once. The follow-up screenings at the secondary detectors will help prevent delays at the gates.

The university’s clear-bag policy and list of prohibited items such as backpacks, umbrellas and weapons remain the same, Frenz said.

“Everything is the same as far as that goes outside of these new metal detectors,” he said.

The family friendly, alcohol-free tailgate area will be free to the public again on the Bryce lawn.

“There is going to be a lot going on out there for each game. We try to do something different for each game,” Frenz said.

The university is trying to encourage tailgaters to recycle this year by providing blue bags for recyclable materials.

"We will be giving some bags out to the tailgaters in the hopes that we will capture that plastic and glass and things like that,” Frenz said. “We want to reduce our carbon footprint in any way we can on campus.”

There will be several sites to drop of the bags on the Quad, Frenz said.

Parking will be similar as years past, though construction of a parking deck adjacent to Moody Music building has caused the university relocate some parking to the Bryce campus, Frenz said. The parking lots open at 7 a.m. on game day. The open lot spaces cost $30 per game, but Frenz encouraged fans to reserve spots ahead of time online at www.uagameday.com to save $5.

The university is promoting a new game-day mobile device application, which will provide information on traffic, parking and tailgating. The UA Gameday app is available on Google Play or Apple's app store.