Holiday Traffic: Expect Painfully Slow Going, AAA Says

PITTSBURGH, PA - If you’re hitting the road for the holidays, allow extra time to reach your destination. A record number of travelers could cause trip times to be as much as three times longer than normal.

That’s the prediction of the American Auto Association and INRIX, a global transportation analytics company. The AAA also forecasts that 107.3 million Americans will travel via planes, trains and cars between Dec. 23 and Jan. 1, which would be the highest year-end travel volume on record.

For the Mid-Atlantic region that includes Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, the AAA predicts:

• Year-End travelers will total 12.4 million, an increase of 3.2 percent from the 12 million in 2016.
• 11.2 million (90%) will travel by automobile, up 3.2 percent from last year’s number of 10.8 million.
• 817,000 will fly to their destinations, up 3.9 percent from last year’s number of 786,000.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission projects that 6 million motorists will travel the turnpike between Dec. 22 and Jan. 1. The most congested days are expected to be Dec. 22 and Jan. 1, with 650,000 motorists anticipated; The lightest travel days are projected to be Dec. 25 and Dec. 31 with 400,000 vehicles, followed by Dec. 24 with 450,000 vehicles.

To accommodate the high volume of traffic, all turnpike construction projects are suspended until after the holidays.

For those traveling by car or by air, AAA has some advice.

“Travelers should plan to arrive at the airport early,” Jim Lehman, president of AAA East Central, said in a release, “and monitor traffic and weather along their route so that their trip is stress free.”

AAA also advises drivers to try to avoid traveling through major cities during peak travel times. The best times to leave are typically early morning or after the morning commute because the roads should be less crowded. If a motorist’s schedule permits, traveling on the holiday itself often results in fewer cars on the road.

The bad news for the 90 percent of holiday travelers who will be driving will find the most expensive year-end gas prices since 2014. This December’s national average price for a gallon of unleaded gas is $2.47, up 28 cents over last December. Relief is on the way, however, as the AAA expect prices to begin dropping by year’s end.

Photo: Associated Press.