Packed highways and airports expected during holiday weekend

The lines at Logan Airport have been living up to the prediction of a busy week for holiday travel.

AAA is estimating that 115.2 million people are traveling 50 miles or more between Christmas and New Year’s. That would make this the second busiest holiday on record since the turn of the century.

By the year’s end, officials are estimating 7.5 million people will have taken flights compared with 7.2 million in 2022.

TSA screened 2.76 million people nationally yesterday, including 67,950 in Boston. On Thursday, TSA screened 66,130 people at Logan. The roads likely won’t be any better.

Traffic is expected to be bad between now and New Year’s, with more than one-hundred and three million people driving – a 1.8% jump compared to last year, but still down from pre-pandemic levels.

Triple A says the best times to drive are today before 10 a.m. and Tuesday through Saturday before noon.

The worst drive times are today between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The worst traffic is expected on Saturday, so if you are heading to the airport, there are some alternate transportation options to consider.

• The MBTA Silver Line provides service between South Station and all of Logan’s terminals.
• The Blue Line between points in Boston, north of Boston and Airport Station.
• Water transportation is available from Downtown Boston and the Logan dock.
• Logan Express from Peabody, Framingham, Woburn, Braintree, or Back Bay.
• Private bus lines, which offer service to New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Southeastern Mass. and Cape Cod.

As always, officials recommend getting to the airport two hours early.