Best And Worst Times To Leave VA For Memorial Day Weekend

The highest gas prices in nearly four years aren’t stopping people from hitting the road during what’s expected to be a record Memorial Day travel period — and when you get out of Virginia matters if you want to avoid travel bottlenecks.

Leaving at the right time won’t just save you from frustration. Stop-and-go traffic reduces fuel efficiency by 10 percent to 40 percent, and with Virginians paying an average of $4.309 for a gallon of regular gasoline on Wedesday, that can make traveling even more expensive.

In its Memorial Day Weekend travel forecast, AAA said a record 45 million Americans are expected to travel 50 or more miles from home for Labor Day Weekend, Most of them — 39.1 million — will be driving. All modes of travel are expected to increase this year.

The transportation analytics company INRIX predicts some of the worst Memorial Day Weekend traffic will hit major metro corridors Thursday and Friday afternoons, with several routes expected to see travel times

The worst time for travelers from Virginia heading north from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore via the Baltimore-Washington Parkway is 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, according to INRIX's data. The trip is estimated to take 1 hour and 56 minutes, which is 116 percent higher than normal.

More generally, here are the best and worst travel times throughout the long holiday weekend:

Thursday, May 21

• Worst: noon-9 p.m.; best: after 9 pm.

Friday, May 22

• Worst: 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; best: before 11 a.m.

Saturday, May 23

• Worst: noon-5 p.m.; best: before 11 a.m.

Sunday, May 24

• Minimal traffic disruption expected

Monday, May 25

• Worst, noon-5 p.m.; best, before 11 a.m.