Here's How to Avoid Awful Traffic This 4th of July in Virginia

It's almost the 4th of July, and that means lots of families are heading out of town to places like Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks -- and the Virginia Department of Transportation wants to help you beat the traffic.

VDOT has created the "Travel Trends" map that can help you figure out the best travel option no matter where you're going during the 4th of July holiday, according to a statement from the agency.

VDOT will do all it can to help ease traffic congestion by lifting most lane closures and suspending most major work zones, but the agency is also urging travelers to investigate an alternate route to reduce travel time.

If you're going to the Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach area to get some sun and sand, officials are urging you to consider using Route 460 instead of Interstate 64. This could help you avoid the worst traffic.

For a more specific route, the Travel Trends map helps predict peak congestion in Hampton Roads, Richmond and Northern Virginia.

"The map shows varying amounts of interstate traffic by time of day, using red for heavy congestion, yellow for moderate congestion and green for little or no congestion," the statement reads. "To use the map, slide the button along the date bar at the top of the map to update predicted traffic information at half-hour intervals between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. for each day. You also can zoom and pan to specific areas."

Interstate 95 northbound will see periods of very heavy congestion on Friday between noon and 6 p.m., and on Monday between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. On I-95 southbound, the heaviest congestion will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday morning until noon, and Monday between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Interstate 66 will be slammed with heavy traffic in both directions for most of Friday and in the late evening on Monday. The same is expected for Interstate 395.

You can also get real-time information about traffic, incidents and congestion on Virginia roads at 511Virginia.org or by downloading the VDOT 511 app.

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