When and where traffic will spike in Richmond for Thanksgiving
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It's time for Richmonders to start thinking about that most-dreaded holiday ritual: Thanksgiving travel.
Why it matters: This will be another record-breaking travel year, AAA predicts, with 81.8 million Americans expected to leave town for Thanksgiving.
- At least 73 million people, aka 90% of all Thanksgiving travelers, will go by car.
Yes, but: Don't expect empty airports.
- The FAA has lifted the flight restrictions imposed during the shutdown, and more than 6 million Americans are expected to fly domestically for Thanksgiving — more than last year.
🚗 State of play: Virginians' worst day to hit the road will be Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons before Thanksgiving and the following Sunday, says INRIX.
- The best travel day: Thanksgiving itself.
🚕 Pro tips for drivers: VDOT has a map showing expected holiday travel trends.
- It predicts interstate traffic around Richmond will start to get dicey (as in "heavy congestion") around 1:30pm on Tuesday on I-95.
- By 2:30pm Tuesday, it's the same situation on I-64, and stays that way on both highways through rush hour.
- Wednesday between 11:30am-4:30pm looks like a congestion nightmare, too, per VDOT's maps.
Yes, but: Virginia will lift most lane closures surrounding the holiday, easing some potential headaches, per VDOT.
Of note: If you're heading to Northern Virginia or beyond, I-395 and 95 Express Lanes will reverse early for Thanksgiving travel to make it easier for folks getting out of the DMV, not into it.
🚨 State law now requires that all car passengers wear seatbelts, including those in the backseat, Virginia DMV reminds holiday travelers.
- So "click it or ticket," says the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
✈️ If you're flying, things are basically back to normal at the Richmond airport following the shutdown's end, RIC spokesperson Troy Bell tells Axios.