Best and worst Fourth of July travel times

By the numbers: AAA projects about 70 million people nationwide will travel 50 miles or more from home this week.

• That's a 5% increase compared to last year, and an 8% increase over 2019.
• 60 million people will travel by car, nearly 6 million by plane and about 4 million by other means, AAA reports.
• In Illinois, nearly 4 million people will drive, 150,000 will fly and about 250,00 will take other transportation.

Zoom out: INRIX, which provides transportation data, predicts the worst times to drive will be 2-7pm before and on the Fourth of July.

• Hit the road before noon Tuesday and Wednesday, and leave before 10am Thursday.
• If possible, return Monday to avoid the most traffic.

Zoom in: These are the best and worst times to travel to and from Chicago:

• Peak congestion driving south toward Indianapolis will be at 2:45pm Wednesday, and will take nearly five hours — two hours longer than normal.
• Airports will be busiest Wednesday ahead of the holiday, and Sunday and Monday will have the most travelers returning, according to Hopper.
• O'Hare will be the fourth-busiest airport, with peak departure times between 4-8pm Wednesday.

The bottom line: Leave extra early and practice patience.