Long lines formed at airports well before daybreak Wednesday, and some drivers in the South saw winter hit the roads early as millions of Americans made the annual dash home for Thanksgiving.
AAA estimated that 38.3 million people would travel 50 miles or more for Thanksgiving – up a million from last year.
Moderating gas prices may be one reason for the increase, said the automobile association’s Robert Sinclair.
Since peaking above $3 per gallon in early August, gasoline pump prices have dropped by around 80 cents per gallon nationwide in the past three months. Wednesday’s nationwide average gas price was $2.23 a gallon, according to AAA.
Thanksgiving air travel was expected to surge, too. AAA predicted 4.8 million travelers will fly to their Thanksgiving destination.
By early afternoon Wednesday, arrivals at LaGuardia and Newark were late an average of an hour due to bad weather in other parts of the country, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority.
Traffic was moving smoothly at several other major airports, including the world’s busiest, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Motorists along Interstate 40, an east-west highway that spans more than 2,500 miles, were seeing more than just fall colors along the route: State troopers will be posted every 10 miles.
The coordinated effort between state police in the eight states the highway passes through – California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina – is aimed at reducing accidents and fatalities Wednesday and Thursday.
One of Southern California’s busiest freeways was shut down on one side for hours when a flatbed truck carrying hazardous materials jackknifed, spilling 55-gallon drums of acetone and rubbing alcohol.
Southbound traffic on Interstate 405 in Hawthorne became so backed up some drivers were directed to travel in the wrong direction to the nearest exit to help ease the gridlock.
The truck’s driver and another motorist were hospitalized with minor injuries, the Los Angeles County Fire Department reported.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
