Memorial Day 2019 to be among busiest ever on NJ roads
Despite ever-rising gas prices, travel watchers are predicting a very busy Memorial Day weekend in New Jersey, especially on the road.
Tracy Noble of AAA Mid-Atlantic says they expect to see over a million New Jerseyans take a trip this weekend.
"We've got 90% of that 1 million travelers going by car so we're going to be experiencing heavy congestion on our roadways," she said.
"They are actually the highest number of travelers that we've seen since 2005 . We're seeing a a big increase over the last 10 years or so in the amount of people that are traveling. It is only slightly up compared to last year. So just about 4% higher than we were one year ago."
Traffic will rise Thursday and Friday afternoons.
"We're going to have people that are looking to get out of work early and start their weekend so that late afternoon on both Thursday and Friday you should expect increased congestion all right and as as usual the usual tips apply."
Noble says gas prices in Jersey are averaging about $ 2.90 a gallon, but still 10 to 12 cents cheaper than last Memorial Day.
She also reminds holiday travelers to be prepared.
"Now is the time to make sure your car is in good working order. Check your tires, check your fluid levels, make sure you have a good strong battery [and] we're asking all motorists and passengers to be responsible and not to drive distracted ."
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