4th Of July 2018: Worst Travel Times Around DC, NoVA

WASHINGTON, DC—Because Fourth of July falls on a Wednesday this year, expect many to take long weekends before and after the holiday. AAA-Mid Atlantic predicts more people than ever will travel for the Fourth of July holiday in the DC metropolitan area.

A record-breaking 1,162,100 people in the metro area are expected to travel 50 or more miles. That's not including the additional traffic of local drivers going to and from beaches, fireworks and other holiday events.

This projection is a 5.5 percent increase from last year. It's also 69 percent higher than 686,000 travelers in 2009—the low since AAA began tracking holiday travel trends 18 year ago. These DC area travelers will join more than 46.95 million Americans traveling nationwide.

"A grand total of 3.4 million persons from the Washington, D.C. metro area, Maryland and Virginia will travel for the Fourth of July," said John B. Townsend II, manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic, in a statement. "Of that number, 2.9 million persons from the three areas will travel by automobile to their Fourth of July holiday destinations."

By the Numbers: Fourth of July 2018 Travel Forecast

• Automobiles: More than 1,009,700 DC area residents will drive to their destinations, 5.4 percent more that last year.
• Airplanes: 87,400 DC area residents will take to the skies, 7.1 percent more than last year.
• Trains, Buses, Rails and Cruise Ships: About 65,000 residents will travel by other means, 5.3 percent more than last year.
• In comparison, Memorial Day travel projections included 938,800 residents traveling by car, 84,900 by plane and 29,700 by other means.

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Worst Times to Travel: Beware "Terrible Tuesday"

INRIX, a global transportation analytics company, and AAA project the most congested cities in the U.S. could see travel times double.

And the worst day to travel? Tuesday.

The most congestion will happen Tuesday, July 3, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., as commuters leave work early and join holiday travelers, according to INRIX.

“Although travel times are expected to nominally increase throughout the week, Tuesday afternoon will, hands down, be the worst time to be on the road," says Scott Sedlik, general manager and vice president - public sector at INRIX. "Our advice to drivers is to avoid peak commuting hours altogether or consider alternative routes."

Some roads will be worse than others. In particular, drivers on the Capital Beltway going in the clockwise direction will face nearly quadrupled travel times on Monday, July 2 at 11:30 a.m.

Here are the worst times to travel on DC area roads and estimated travel times:

Travel Forecast and Tips from VDOT

The Virginia Department of Transportation expects the most heavy congestion to happen between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 3 and Thursday, July 5. The agency expects additional congestion on Interstate 66 east on Wednesday, July 4 in the late evening hours, and on I-95 in the Fredericksburg region.

To ease congestion, most highway work zones lane closures on interstates and other major roads in Virginia will be lifted from noon Tuesday, July 3 until noon Thursday, July 5. HOV restrictions will be lifted on Interstates 66 and 395 Wednesday, July 4.

Check traffic conditions before you hit the road:

• See VDOT's Fourth of July travel trends map to anticipate the best times to travel.
• Visit 511 Virginia for real-time information about traffic, congestion and accidents or download the free mobile VDOT 511 app.
• Call 800-FOR-ROAD (800-367-7623) 24 hours a day.
• Find HOV schedules and tolls on VDOT's website.
• Follow VDOT on Twitter and Facebook.
• Ease your travel with E-ZPass. Visit ezpassva.com to enroll online and for a list of E-ZPass retail locations.
• Use the Express Lanes mobile app to check real-time toll prices and traffic cameras or follow
• Follow the Express Lanes on Twitter @VAExpressLanes for updates
• Find rest stops along interstate roads.

Gas Prices Not As Bad As Memorial Day

After the highest gas prices so far this year on Memorial Day, gas prices have slowly but surely started to fall. In the DC metro area, the current $2.80 average is 15 cents lower than the 2018 high, according to AAA. However, that's 56 cents more than this time last year. But given the busy travel forecast, travelers aren't deterred by the prices.

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