Heavy Traffic As Holiday Weekend Winds Down
BALTIMORE (WJZ) --As Memorial Day comes to an end, travelers begin their commute back home.
This year more Marylanders planned to travel for the extended weekend.
WJZ's Marcus Washington in near I-83 with more on the traffic and how drivers are dealing with the travel.
This year the number number of Marylanders traveling this holiday weekend is up higher than we have seen in a decade.
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It's the end of the extended weekend.
"Me and couple of my buddies went down to the beach, down in Ocean City," Maryland resident Andrew Marsh.
A weekend many people use to kick-off the unofficial start of summer.
"I'm just going up to my sister's in Sparks, she's having a cookout up at her house," said Maria Pulitano, of Maryland.
According to AAA, slightly more than 800,000 Marylanders will travel this Memorial Day weekend. That's nearly a 5 percent hike compared to 2014 -- the highest numbers of travelers since 2005.
"Even though gas prices have trickled up over the past few weeks, we're still seeing record lows in the amount of what we're paying at the pump," Ragina C. Averella, spokeswoman for AA Mid-Atlantic, said. "We are about 98 cents less than this time last year."
Marcus: What has travel been like for you this morning?
"It's been a piece of cake," said Bryce Legg, of Maryland. "Around here there hasn't been any traffic that I've come across."
There isn't a lot traffic today, but that will all change as people wrap up their activities and head home.
In a Trip Advisory survey, 41 percent of people nationwide will return home from some holiday activities Monday, 21 percent will do some shopping and 16 percent will visit a park.
Marcus: Do you think you're going to run into any traffic today?
"I'm hoping not to run into any traffic today but I was in DC yesterday and I did run into traffic there," one commuter said.
So with all the expected travelers, how are people looking to manage the influx of drivers?
"Came back Sunday just to avoid the traffic, because Memorial Day traffic is notoriously bad. No trying to get stuck in that. Coming back from going out at the beach three nights in a row, the last thing you want is to sit in your car for 5 hours," Marsh said.
AAA's advice: travel at off-peak times.
Some delays due to construction can be expected on I-95 near the Ft. McHenry Tunnel.
It's advised for all drivers to focus on the road because both the Maryland State Police and Maryland Transportation Authority police will be out in full force -- making sure there are no impaired drivers on the roads.
