Over 40 million expected to travel this Memorial Day weekend

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – More than 40 million Americans will be boarding a plane or driving to their destination starting Thursday. It’s the largest number of travelers since 2019.

“Memorial Day is going to be the second busiest in AAA data on record. Second only to 2005 in every category”

Over 38 million Americans are estimated to be traveling by car this weekend despite the national average for a gallon of gas is $3.60. Here in Colorado, the average is $3.34.

“The important thing to keep in mind is, when you’ve got cheap, cheap gas prices, it tends to be an indicator of something else wrong in the economy,” McKinley said.

McKinley says this could be for several reasons. McKinley credits reformulated gas at the pumps as one potential cause. The state was forced to switch because of an EPA mandate.

“We’ve had an opportunity to avoid this situation. The EPA has warned us for years, “Hey, the ozone on the northern front range is getting out of control,” McKinley said.

lately, Colorado has seen a major spike in prices going up 20 cents in the last month alone. McKinley says to expect a rise again ahead of the weekend.

“Inflation for the better part of feels like 3 years at least. And inflation is real and persistent, and it affects all of us. That’s why we’re talking about gas prices going up,” McKinley said.

A spokesperson with CDOT says crews will be stopping roadwork that many people are seeing along major roadways Friday at noon and will be continuing that roadwork Tuesday morning.

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