Thanksgiving road trip: Best, worst times to hit the road
If you decide to wait until Thanksgiving to drive, it's recommended you leave before 11 a.m.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- AAA experts are suggesting that drivers plan to travel during the early morning hours or late in the evening to avoid the worst traffic congestion.
Wednesday is expected to be the busiest weekday travel day since the start of the pandemic.
RELATED: Take a live look at traffic across the area
AAA said the worst time to drive on Wednesday will be between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. The best time to leave Wednesday to avoid congestion is after 9 p.m., according to AAA.
If you decide to wait until Thanksgiving to drive, it's recommended you leave before 11 a.m. to avoid heavy congestion.
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The worst time to drive on Thanksgiving Day is expected to be between the hour of 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
AAA is projecting that nearly 630,000 people in the Philadelphia area will be traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday, most of them on the road.
Those numbers are up since last year. More than 90% of travelers are expected to drive this time around, experts said.
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They'll also be paying more for gas.
Right now, AAA says that the average cost of gas is about $3.40 a gallon, which is more than a dollar higher than this time last year.
President Joe Biden has tapped into the emergency supply this week in an effort to bring prices down since supply cannot keep up with increasing demand.
Experts believe it could take about two weeks for the emergency supply to enter the markets and for gas stations around the country to lower costs.
