Independence Day travel already underway across the Ozarks

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – The July 4 holiday may still be nearly a week away, but it hasn’t stopped the holiday travel from kicking off.

In fact, the Transportation Security Administration expected June 28 to be the busiest day of the season for air travel. The agency anticipating screening more than 3 million passengers across the country. According to the Springfield-Branson National Airport, more travelers are coming through the gates than they used to. Flyers are encouraged to be at the airport two hours before their expected flight.

Then of course, there are the roads. According to AAA, more than 60.6 million travelers are expected to hit the roads, driving 50 miles or more for the holiday, which is an additional 2.8 million more compared to 2023.

As more people are expected to load up in their cars, the Missouri Department of Transpiration is encouraging safety above all else.

“It’s the littlest things that can make a difference of whether a person is alive when they arrive at home,” said Johnny Teegardin, district construction and materials engineer, MODOT. “That’s the whole point. We want them to arrive at home in the same condition when they left.”

Teegardin, of course is referring to safe driving habits. Some of the basics, putting down your phone, and other distractions. Don’t drive impaired and be cautious in the construction zones.

There is some good news about the construction zones though, according to MODOT the zones will be a little less hectic. Starting in the evening on Wednesday July 3, the work in zones that have lane closures will cease and then resume on Friday July 5. However, according to Teegardin, that window could last even longer.

“From my indication right now, most of the contractors in the metropolitan area have decided not to do any kind of operations and that’s a good thing for the traveling public,” said Teegardin. “We expect traffic to kind of increase and stay that way through the weekend and into the Monday morning as they come back to work.”

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