Busy roadways expected in Southland for Thanksgiving
Travel continues to rebound from the pandemic as the holidays get closer.
According to The Automobile Club of Southern California, 3.8 million Southern Californians will use their car to take trips of at least 50 miles or more during the Thanksgiving holiday period. That's a 9% increase from last year. However, AAA said it's not expected to beat pre-pandemic levels.
The transportation analytics firm INRIX found that Wednesday, Nov. 24 in the afternoon and evening will be the busiest time for Southland freeways. They predict the busiest freeway segment will be Interstate 5 South from Colorado Street to Florence Avenue. The firm said it expects traffic to be 385% over normal levels in that area.
AAA said all outbound freeways are likely to be congested on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons before Thanksgiving. Drivers should expect longer travel times during those periods and plan to leave early.
According to a survey from Auto Club travel advisors, the top five destinations for Southern Californians are:
- San Diego
- Las Vegas
- Grand Canyon
- Yosemite
- Santa Barbra/Central Coast
Valley resident Steve Thomsen plans to drive out Tuesday and hopes to avoid traffic.Â
"Go to Apple Valley about a 100 miles away to visit my newly born granddaughter," said Thomsen. "I'm not worried about [traffic] at all. The route we're gonna take- we're staying off the major highways."
Valley visitor Jason Velick said he is driving to LA the day before Thanksgiving.
"I didn't even think about [the traffic], actually, but now I should probably take that into account and maybe I'm going to have to leave here a little bit earlier," said Velick.
AAA spokesperson Doug Shupe said the rising gas prices won't keep many people from their road trip plans.
"People don't know what the gas prices are going to be and they make their plans well in advance of knowing what those prices are going to be," said Shupe.
AAA says the top three reasons drivers end up calling for help during their holiday road trip are dead batteries, flat tires, and people locking themselves out of their car.
