The Infamous “Busiest Travel Day of the Year”

Today is the busiest travel day of the year!  Well, not really.  It's not even in the top 20.  Most of the busiest travel days of the year occur during the summer as families head out on vacation.  But, this is a popular myth, so I'll run with it!  Still, today is the day when millions upon millions of Americans hit the road…heading home, heading to see family, heading anywhere, to go spend the Thanksgiving weekend somewhere special!  Whether by air or by land, if you’re headed somewhere today, you will not likely be alone!

Personally, the only travel I will be doing today will be my drive from Campbell to Morgan Hill as soon as I bail from work (probably after lunch).  That’s it.  My family and I will leave from there tomorrow morning for Lancaster.  Why?  Because a) we’re all morning people, and b) driving Wednesday afternoon/evening on Highway 5 is just incredibly insane.  No thanks.  We’ll just hit the road tomorrow morning at 4:30 am.  It’ll still be busy, but not nearly as insane as leaving Wednesday!

However, for those of you travelling today (maybe you are reading this on your mobile device from the airport, or while stuck in traffic), here’s some statistics for you about today!

Experts are expecting 3.4 million people to fly over the Thanksgiving holiday this year!

The top 10 busiest airports today will be:

1. Los Angeles International

2. Chicago O'Hare International

3. Orlando International

4. San Francisco International

5. Boston Logan International

6. New York LaGuardia

7. Denver International

8. John F. Kennedy International

9. Newark Liberty International

10. Seattle-Tacoma International

Of course, if you are from the Bay Area, you could always just fly out of San Jose…Mineta San Jose International Airport is the #1 least busy airport for Thanksgiving!  Bad for SJC, but good for us in the South Bay!

Avoiding the airports?  AAA expects that 90 percent of those traveling today will be on the road with 38.2 million Americans traveling by automobile. 

The top 10 most congested highways today are expected to be:

1. The I-95 Corridor - Interstate 95 from New York City to Washington, D.C.

Bad weather is not uncommon along this corridor during Thanksgiving week. In 2006, a strong Nor'easter moved through two days before Thanksgiving that brought damaging winds, coastal flooding and snarled holiday travel from the Carolinas to southern New England. Some experts estimate that this 225-mile trek is the slowest stretch of highway nationwide during the holiday season.

2. Boston - Westbound Massachusetts Turnpike from downtown Boston to Interstate 84 in Sturbridge

This stretch of road is only 56 miles long and should, theoretically, be driven in about an hour. However, because this is the main route connecting Boston to the rest of the Eastern seaboard, it has been known to come to a virtual standstill.

3. Chicago - Borman Expressway I-80/I-94, the Tri-State Tollway

This is the trifecta of traffic tie-ups because it is the intersection of three heavily traveled roads. What makes it even worse for holiday travelers are the big rigs that travel through these tollways.  In September 2008, all lanes of the tollway were closed when the Little Calumet River flooded. Torrential rains from Hurricane Ike reportedly caused a levee breach and puts parts of the roadway under five feet of water.

4. New York City - Throgs Neck Bridge and Whitestone Bridge

These two bridges are key choke points when traveling from the New York City area to Connecticut or Long Island. The Throgs Neck Bridge, the "newest bridge," was built back in 1961 to help relieve traffic on the adjacent Whitestone Bridge, and it has long been overrun with traffic jams.

5. San Francisco - Eastbound Interstate 80 to Sacramento and Tahoe

In San Francisco, thousands use Thanksgiving as an excuse to flee the city and get the first taste of winter weather. The down side is that they all take Interstate 80 to get to the ski resorts around Lake Tahoe.  This trek only worsens with a dash of winter weather, such as the major winter storm that hit this past weekend.

6. Atlanta - Interstate 285 in both directions between I-75 and I-85

Home to six major interstates, Atlanta is a major checkpoint for driving destinations across the Southeast. Interstate 285 is the busiest of Atlanta's interstates with an astounding two million daily drivers - mix in holiday travelers and shoppers and frustration will be cooking in Atlanta.

7. Washington, D.C. - Interstate 495 from Merrifield, Va., to Landover, Md.

The Beltway, as I-495 is called, encircles the nation's capital city, and locals joke that its rush hour is 24 hours a day. Only spanning 30 miles, this stretch can easily take hours to traverse and is at its worst at Thanksgiving.

8.  Dallas - Interstate 35

3.5 million people make this particular stretch of road a travel headache. According to officials at the Texas DOT, half of Dallas metro residents live along a 50-mile stretch of I-35 who hit the roads en masse during the holidays.

9. Detroit - Northbound US-23 and Northbound I-75 Merge

This stretch of road near Flint, Mich., attracts people fleeing to the beautiful northern Michigan forests for turkey and fun. Cabin owners, resort seekers and deer hunters flock north from Detroit, Indiana, Ohio, and even Chicago.

10. Miami - The Palmetto Expressway near Miami International Airport

The Palmetto Expressway is one of the most heavily traveled roads in the Miami area, which particularly gets backed up from Okeechobee Road to south of the Dolphin Expressway. Adding travelers flying into and driving from Miami can create a travel nightmare.  Luckily, they will enjoy warm spring-like temperatures along the drive.

That’s based on a number of factors, including being a junction for many routes, millions of people, and it takes weather into account as well.  If we just look at average number of cars per day, the following highways take the cake!

1. Los Angeles I-405

2. Atlanta I-75

3. Houston US 59

4. Chicago I-90

5. Seattle I-5

6. San Francisco I-80

7. New York I-95

8. San Diego I-15

9. Phoenix I-10

10. Miami I-95

And, I can tell you from experience that I-5 through the Central Valley can get rather congested too.  And if that’s not in the top 10, I’m staying far, far away from those highways that are!

So, whether travelling by air or by land, you will be joined today by millions and millions of your neighbors!  Just accept it, stay safe, stay calm, and throw on some good music!  You’ll all get to where you are going soon!

And with that, the Thanksgiving Nine is almost complete.  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I will be hitting the road to Lancaster for yet another glorious weekend with my family!  I simply cannot wait!  The Thanksgiving Nine concludes tomorrow with a special Thanksgiving Day post!

Safe Travels!