Tough call. I guess it depends on your practical assessment of local officials' competence and your appetite for risk.

Without information, bypassing the barricades might lead to safety. Or it may trap people on a narrow road in a crematorium. If you drive around, others will follow. That adds a lot of weight over and above your personal choice. The herd instinct applies to these situations.

More to the point, though: If you were paying attention to events and attuned to the current levels of risk, there's a good chance you would have left town before the barricades went up.