Highways busy as holiday travel gets underway

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) — Fourth of July travel is forecasted to set records as folks hit the road to their holiday destinations. AAA estimates that over 60 million people are hitting the roads, 5.7 Million people are taking a plane, and just over 4.5 million more people are using other forms of transportation to get where they need to go for the holiday. Overall, those numbers make it a five percent increase in travelers this holiday season compared to last year’s Independence Day travel numbers.

These high traffic numbers come off of the heels of a deadly crash Tuesday where Mass. State Police reported that one person died in the crash on I-91 northbound in Springfield around 4:30 p.m.

AAA said that, overall, the worst times to get your trip started on the road are from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and, in terms of pain at the pump, travelers should expect a slight decrease in gas prices from last year. The national average is sitting just around $3.50 per gallon of regular gas, but AAA expects those numbers to decrease through the holiday weekend.

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