The Thanksgiving travel rush is here and expected to be worse than ever.
According to AAA, a record-high 81.8 million people across the nation are set to hit the roads for the holiday this week. In Massachusetts, transportation officials are expecting more than 1.8 million people to travel by car for Thanksgiving.
MassDOT officials warned Monday morning that major throughways were already beginning to see backups — and the worst is yet to come. The agency said the largest number of travelers are expected to hit the road Tuesday.
“We are projecting that 2025 traffic congestion will be heavier, it will be earlier in the day, and it will especially be heavy on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday this year,” said Jonathan Gulliver, Massachusetts’ undersecretary of transportation and highway administrator.
Gulliver said the Massachusetts Turnpike, I-93, I-95, I-84 and State Route 3 will likely see the worst backups, and traffic will be heavier in afternoons than mornings.
Jillian Young, the director of public relations for AAA Northeast, warned Massachusetts residents to take the record-breaking predictions seriously and to factor in extra time if they’re traveling by car. She said “early is the name of the game” if drivers want to beat the traffic — both early in the week and early in time of day they get on the road.
“I know we sound a little bit like a broken record saying every year it’s a new record [number of travelers], but that’s the reality of the situation,” she said.
There is one silver-lining for last-minute travelers, though: “Thanksgiving day itself is likely to be one of the best travel days of the week,” said Gulliver.
But right after the Thanksgiving Day slowdown, traffic is predicted to pick back up on Friday, as shoppers race to stores for Black Friday deals, according to Gulliver. He added that backups could be particularly bad on Sunday as travelers return home from holiday celebrations.
To help ease congestion, MassDOT is pausing all planned construction projects on state roadways for the remainder of the week.
