AAA: over 70 million people expected to travel for Fourth of of July holiday

LUDLOW, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – With Independence Day next week, we’re getting answers on the holiday travel expectation for our area.

On Friday, Miguel and Ester were traveling from Saratoga Springs, NY to visit their son in Ludlow. They told us they left New York early Friday morning to avoid any potential setbacks.

“It depends what time of day you’re going through. Most of the time, you can get through it no problem, like this time of day, but later in the afternoon, it gets pretty busy,” Miguel and Ester explained.

Western Mass News also spoke with AAA Northeast spokesperson Mark Schieldrop about what we can expect this weekend. He told us that, nationwide, over 70 million people are expected to travel somewhere over the holiday weekend, with 60 million of those travelers doing so by car. He said this is a record-breaking number for this time of year, significantly passing pre-pandemic levels.

“It looks like more and more Americans are really taking the week off and they’re looking at the Fourth of July holiday as a solid week for them to book vacations or go on trips and it’s a reflection of just how travel patterns have changed since the pandemic,” Schieldrop explained.

Schieldrop said travel is expected to pick up as we get deeper into the week with Tuesday, July 2 and Wednesday, July 3 being some of the busiest days for drivers.

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