Thanksgiving

Hitting the Road for Thanksgiving? Here Are the Best and Worst Times to Drive

Airports and highways are all anticipated to be crowded this week, as holiday travel continues to bounce back

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As another Thanksgiving quickly approaches, you may be planning to hit the road and visit family during the coming days.

If that's the case, you're likely to have a lot of company on the road with you.

Massachusetts transportation officials predict that Bay State roadways will be much busier than the last few years, and maybe even exceed pre-pandemic levels.

Thanksgiving road congestion is expected to be "very, very heavy" Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, as more people spread out their travel plans amid more flexible work schedules, according to Massachusetts Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver.

The worst day for travel, though, is anticipated to be Sunday, when people head home from their holiday gatherings.

MassDOT recently released an advisory, showing anticipated impacts on major roads in the Bay State.

The best times to travel, according to MassDOT are before 8 a.m. Wednesday or before 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving itself.

It's not just the highways that are projected to see heavy volume. Logan Airport is also expecting big travel numbers this week.

Holiday travel is expected to seriously ramp up this upcoming week at Logan Airport in Boston.

The TSA has issued a warning for travelers, saying they should expect long lines at Logan, particularly next Tuesday and Wednesday, and the Sunday following Thanksgiving.

Nearly 64,000 are travelers anticipated there during peak days, which is about 20,000 more travelers per day than at the same time in 2021.

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