Nov 25, 2009 6:01 pm US/Eastern
Millions Hit Road For Thanksgiving Holiday
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
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The opening of two lanes of traffic helped ease the burden on Route 28 just north of the Etna interchange, ending months of lane restrictions and detours.
KDKA
Millions of people are hitting the road.
The day before Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest travel day of the year and AAA is expecting road travel to increase this year.
The opening of two lanes of traffic helped ease the burden on Route 28 just north of the Etna interchange, ending months of lane restrictions and detours.
But whether you find smooth sailing or congestion depends entirely where you travel.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike says this is its busiest travel day and expects 2.1 million vehicles over the five-day holiday period.
"Wednesday and Sunday evenings are the two busiest days during the five-day Thanksgiving holiday," Carl DeFabo, a spokesperson for the turnpike, said. "And so we're telling people that basically look – avoid if possible those early evening hours Wednesday and Sunday. If you can't avoid them, be prepared for some stop and go traffic and some additional delays."
Susanne Eberwein chose to drive rather than fly this Thanksgiving holiday.
"The airlines are a little too expensive," she said at a rest stop along I-79 near Bridgeville. She is driving from Niagara Falls, NY to Ft. Bragg, NC to see her son who just returned from Iraq.
A group from Toronto, Canada also took a break at that rest stop. They are heading to Myrtle Beach, SC were pleasantly surprised at gas prices once they reached Pennsylvania.
"Gas in Canada is more heavily taxed," said John Leishman of Toronto. "We found pretty good gas prices at a Sam's Club."
Generally experts projected a 1.4 percent increase in car travel in part because of increases in airline costs.
At Pittsburgh International Airport, the average security checkpoint wait was 10 minutes and the extended lot was 68 percent full.
And at the Greyhound Bus Station Downtown, two students, Erin Jamel Jordan of Greensburg and Sean McNash of Penn Hills waiting for their respective rides home had the same thought.
"It's just good to be home."
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