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WASHINGTON - It's that time of year again when motorists flood area highways on their way out of town for their Memorial Day holiday getaways.
AAA Mid-Atlantic says 2.8 million people in and around the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia areas will travel 50 miles or more by automobile to mark the unofficial start of summer.
Trip times, they say, could triple depending on when you decide to hit the road.
"Travel delays will mount on major roadways and multiply on escape routes in the Washington metro area, as people heading out of town on vacation find themselves stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic jams alongside rush-hour commuters who are staying put for the holiday period," said John B. Townsend II, AAA Mid-Atlantic's Manager of Public and Government Affairs.
In the D.C. area, the worst time for travel is Thursday, May 24 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Hitting the road during this time may more than double your drive time.
Sitting in that extra traffic will also cost you more this year. AAA reports that this year drivers will pay the most expensive Memorial Day gas prices since 2014. They say gas prices averaged $2.72 in April, an increase of 33 cents from last year.
42 million Americans are expected to will travel in some way over the Memorial Day weekend.
US50 W
5/28/2018
I95 S
5/24/2018
I95 N
5/28/2018
Capital Beltway Anticlockwise
5/29/2018
I270 S
5/24/2018
Capital Beltway Clockwise
5/29/2018
I270 N
5/23/2018
US50 E
5/24/2018
Metro Area
Worst Day for Travel
Worst Time for Travel
Delay Multiplier of Normal Trip
Atlanta, GA
Thursday, May 24
3:30 - 5:30 PM
1.6x
Houston, TX
Thursday, May 24
4:30 - 6:00 PM
1.5x
Boston, MA
Thursday, May 24
4:30 - 6:30 PM
1.8x
Washington, DC
Thursday, May 24
4:30 - 7:00 PM
2.3x
San Francisco, CA
Friday, May 25
3:00 - 5:30 PM
1.7x
Los Angeles, CA
Friday, May 25
3:30 - 5:30 PM
1.9x
New York, NY
Friday, May 25
3:30 - 6:30 PM
2.7x
Detroit, MI
Friday, May 25
4:00 - 5:30 PM
1.5x
Chicago, IL
Friday, May 25
4:00 - 6:00 PM
2.1x
Seattle, WA
Friday, May 25
4:00 - 6:00 PM
1.8x
Source: INRIX