Turnpike Expecting 3.2 Million Vehicles During Holiday Travel Period
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The day before Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the holiday weekend and one of the busiest of the year.
If you're traveling this Thanksgiving by train, car, bus or plane, you'll have about 47 million companions alongside you.
Along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, drivers say there's a trick to avoiding delays.
The Turnpike Commission is anticipating roughly 3.2 million vehicles on the state roadway from Tuesday to Sunday. Wednesday morning, drivers said if you leave super early, roughly 3 a.m., you may avoid highway headaches.
That may have been good advice as an accident on the Turnpike near Route 8 had traffic backed up for miles late Wednesday morning.
"We left at 4 o'clock this morning, hoping to beat the rush in Chicago," Jim Gilbert said.
"It's been smooth sailing so far. No traffic. I guess that's the good part about leaving at 5 a.m.," Glenn Zeiderman said.
If you're not behind the wheel, there's a different kind of advice.
"I just got some gummy bears and a book," Lily Zeiderman said.
KDKA-TV's Heather Abraham found several drivers heading west to places like Chicago, like Gilbert. He flew from Chicago to Washington D.C. to get his daughter and is now driving in a rental back to the Windy City, where they just had 11 inches of snow.
"Biggest snowstorm in November in 120 years," he said.
State police are asking motorists to obey the laws and be courteous.
"We're going to be looking for unbelted driver, aggressive behavior and intoxicated or impaired drivers," Trooper Matthew Jardine said.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is expecting another high volume traffic period between noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
At Pittsburgh International Airport, travelers were thinking about the travel warning for Americans issued by the State Department just days ago.
"A little, but at the end of the day, it's a risk you take in this day and time," said Marquis Jones, of Brookline.
"I'm kind of a seasoned traveler," said Allison Harden, of Squirrel Hill. "I travel a lot, so it doesn't bother me. The terror threat is always out there; I don't think it's any different now really."
For those going through the TSA lines Wednesday, the morning delay was about 40 minutes, but the bigger test is the evening hours.
"From 4 [p.m.] to 6 [p.m.], we expect a rush as people get off work and try to catch their flights," said airport spokesperson Bob Kerlik.
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