Traffic a breeze as outlets open Thursday; police warn Friday night, Saturday morning will be worse

MERRIMACK – Scott Richard beat the traffic with no problem at all Thursday morning. He pedaled his way up Premium Outlets Boulevard and didn’t struggle to find a parking spot. He needn’t have bothered. Merrimack police were – and still are – bracing for heavy traffic at the giant outlets mall as well as the Rock’n Ribfest at the Anheuser-Busch brewery nearby this weekend. But on Thursday morning at least, traffic was less of a problem than expected. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be,” said Chantal Godin, who arrived bright and early, a few minutes before stores opened their doors. She said it took about 15 minutes to get to the shopping center from her home in Amherst. “It was pretty easy I thought,” she said. That was a common sentiment Thursday morning while early-bird shoppers took advantage of the much heralded opening. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought,” Judy Cobuccio, a Merrimack resident said. “Grand opening you’re going to get a lot of people.” Traffic on the F.E.