This Thanksgiving expected to be busiest for travel in last 3 years
BOSTON -- This Thanksgiving is expected to be the busiest for travel in the last three years. AAA predicts that 54.6 million people will travel for the holiday.
That rush appeared to be underway at Logan Airport by Tuesday night, but the joy of reuniting with family seemed to ease the pain of traveling.
"It's great to be home for the holidays, all of us together," one woman said at Logan.
While cars piled into the airport to pick up loved ones flying in, the real chaos was on the streets.
"Usually takes about 45 minutes, but it said two hours," one driver told WBZ-TV.
Some Thanksgiving travelers chose to change their routes because of the traffic.
According to AAA, 1.3 million people in Massachusetts will travel more than 50 miles this week. National travel records will reach near-record highs.
"Americans are traveling this year for sure and that's despite higher gas prices, substantially higher airfare, and higher inflation in general," said Mark Schieldrop.
To help with the traffic, MassDOT has canceled highway construction for the week, will keep the HOV lane open for extended hours, and will keep the Sumner Tunnel open for the weekend.
The only way to truly miss the congestion though is to travel during off-peak hours, which is before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m.