Cheaper Gas May Drive More to Hit Road for Thanksgiving: AAA

By Dylan Moroses, CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE

Low gas prices, increased police presence, suspended roadwork and toll booth failsafes may provide motorists cheaper, safer and quicker Thanksgiving travel across Maryland.

The Maryland Transportation Authority expects a 1 percent increase in road traffic during the holiday travel period, between the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday following the holiday, according to John Sales, the organization’s public affairs manager.

Around Washington, D.C., more than 1 million area residents will be traveling during the holiday, according to AAA—just over a 3 percent increase from last year’s figures.

AAA attributes the increase in Thanksgiving motor travel nationwide to a better general economic climate and the lowest gas price averages since 2010.

“Gas prices as low as $2.50 are another holiday gift to motorists,” AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman Lon Anderson said.

The Maryland Transportation Authority Police will dispatch additional patrols on Maryland roadways during Thanksgiving travel times to emphasize the new “Move Over” law, which includes tow vehicles, and will enforce drunken-driving violations, which typically see a spike during the holiday season, said Maryland Transportation Authority Police 1st Sgt. Jonathan Green.

Related: Maryland Drivers—Move Over Law is Expanding

The Maryland Transportation Authority Police patrols will be on standby during peak hours to quickly respond to any emergencies, including crashes and disabled vehicles, Green said.

“Traffic in this area is very fluid; it changes very rapidly,” Green said.

The Maryland State Highway Administration increases its emergency roadside patrols and suspends all nonemergency roadwork during Thanksgiving week, getting out of drivers’ way.

Though it won’t happen in time for Thanksgiving, drivers on I-95 north of Baltimore will see some relief before the Christmas holidays on a new toll highway.

Between Dec. 6 and Dec. 12, Maryland motorists should find travel free on the all-video and E-ZPass Interstate 95 Express Toll Lanes, which extend from Joppa Road to the Interstates 895 and 95 split.

See Also: New Express Toll Lanes on I-95 to Open in Early December

Beginning Dec. 13 E-ZPass prices one way for cars and motorcycles to travel the express lanes will be $1.75 during peak hours, $1.49 during off-peak and 70 cents during overnight hours.

The Maryland Transportation Authority anticipates the road will hasten the trip for motorists who use it, as well as ease traffic for drivers who stay on nearby local lanes, Sales said.

Anderson said he sees the “horrendous mess” of traffic buildups on Interstate 95 in the Baltimore area traveling to and from Wilmington, DE, where AAA Mid-Atlantic is headquartered.

When the Virginia 495 Express Lanes opened between Springfield and the Dulles Toll Road in November 2012, AAA was opposed, believing they would bring a “two-tiered transportation system where the rich will roll and the poor will poke,” Anderson explained.

“We know now from the express lanes in Virginia on Interstate 495 that express lanes take enough traffic off of regular ones, but there was real confusion among motorists when they opened,” Anderson said. “Drivers would unintentionally get on the toll lanes, and try to back up down the road along the shoulder.”

Anderson said he hopes the Maryland Transportation Authority will do a better job to inform drivers of the fees and rules before Christmas, especially for drivers new to the Baltimore-area Express Toll Lanes.

Maryland’s previous effort to launch the Intercounty Connector, an all-video and E-ZPass toll road connecting central Montgomery County with northwestern Prince George’s County, fell short when an “artificially slow” 55 mph speed limit and frequent police ticketing plagued the winter 2011 opening, Anderson said.

The state’s transportation agency is also exploring the idea of opening exclusive video-toll and E-ZPass facilities, like those at the ICC and upcoming I-95 lanes, at some of their existing cash and E-ZPass stations.

Some of the cash and E-ZPass toll booths that could transform into electronic tolling take over are the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge facility on U.S. Route 40 between Cecil and Harford Counties and the Francis Scott Key Bridge toll in Baltimore, Sales said.

The Maryland Intercounty Connector, from Interstate 270 in Montgomery County to US Route 1 Prince George’s County, is the state’s first all-electronic tolling facility, using E-ZPass or a camera system to bill motorists, based on distance traveled, who use the road. Photo Credit: Maryland Transportation Authority.