Traffic always seems to be worse on Fridays around Gainesville. But today might be “something else” as they say.
Consider: Not only is it the start of the Memorial Day Weekend, it’s also the last day of school for county schools. And busy McEver Road is likely to be even busier, especially around Free Chapel’s main campus, especially right before and right after 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. That’s because of high school graduation ceremonies scheduled at those times. There will be two more tomorrow: 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. And, many people will be starting their summer vacations this weekend, adding to the influx of travelers.
Back to Memorial Day.
AAA projects 43.8 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home over the holiday travel period. This year’s total number of travelers, nationwide, is expected to increase by four percent over last year and come close to matching 2005’s record of 44 million Memorial Day travelers. And most are expected to travel by car.
“We haven’t seen Memorial Day weekend travel numbers like these in almost 20 years,” said Paula Twidale, Senior Vice President of AAA Travel. “We’re projecting an additional one million travelers this holiday weekend compared to 2019, which not only means we’re exceeding pre-pandemic levels but also signals a very busy summer travel season ahead,” with today being the busiest of four days between now and midnight Monday.