Best Times To Travel This Memorial Day Weekend As Nearly 1M Marylanders Hit The Road
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The days of having the beach all to yourself at Sandy Point State Park, or quick trips over the Bay Bridge are about to come to an end.
Maryland and the rest of the U.S. are about to hit the road.
Nationally, an estimated 43 million people will travel for Memorial Day Weekend. Of those 43 million are 918,000 Marylanders who also plan to schedule a getaway.
"AAA is projecting the highest record travel volume for the Memorial Day Holiday here in Maryland and nationally since we started tracking this data back in 2000," Regina Cooper Averella, of Mid-Atlantic AAA, said.
Maryland Ranked Among Safest States For Memorial Day Travel
For those traveling on airlines, it won't be any easier. AAA estimates more than three million people will take to the sky for the weekend, a four percent jump from last year.
But it will be cars that take most of the travelers to the beach, and Ocean City is expecting a big crowd.
"Look at the weather, this is the forecast for Maryland this weekend and that doesn't always happen," Mayor of Ocean City Rick Meehan said.
What does happen every year is increased police presence, state and local agencies.
"We're going to have extra troopers out there," Maryland State Police Lt. Frank Lioi said. "We're looking for distracted drivers. We're looking for impaired drivers. We're looking for anybody driving aggressively, not wearing seatbelts, trying to keep them slowed down."
The MDTA offers the following travel tips for this holiday weekend and throughout the summer months:
- Travel off-peak when heading to and from the Eastern Shore.
- The best times to travel the Bay Bridge this weekend include:
- Thursday/Friday – before 10 a.m. and after 10 p.m.
- Saturday – before 7 a.m. and after 5 p.m.
- Sunday/Monday – before 10 a.m. and after 10 p.m.
- Motorists traveling to and from the Eastern Shore should remain on US 50 to keep local roadways open for first responders and residents.
- Avoid the Flock!
- For real-time updates on major incidents follow the MDTA on Twitter at twitter.com/TheMDTA.
- To sign up for email/text alerts or view real-time traffic camera images on MDTA roadways, visit mdta.maryland.gov.
- Call 1-877-BAYSPAN (229-7726) for 24/7 Bay Bridge traffic conditions or visit baybridge.com to view traffic cameras.
