2.4 Million Vehicles Will Travel On Tollway Christmas Eve, Day

Chicago IL

21 December, 2021

10:52 AM

Description

ILLINOIS — More than 109 million people will travel 50 miles or more between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2, according to the American Automobile Association. Although the coronavirus pandemic continues and many are concerned with the omicron variant, this bump in travel represents an almost 34 percent increase from 2020. The bounce back will bring this year's numbers to 92 percent of 2019 levels, AAA said in a news release. "Americans who canceled their vacations in 2020 want to gather with family and friends for the holidays this year, although they will still be mindful of the pandemic and the new omicron variant," Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel said in a news release. "With vaccines widely available, conditions are much different and many people feel a greater level of comfort with travel." Travelers should be aware of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, as well as travel restrictions if flying domestically or internationally, AAA said. Although more than six million people are expected to travel by air, road trips remain the top mode of travel during the holidays, according to AAA. Over 100 million people are planning to head to their destinations in cars. Where are travelers heading? According to AAA, booking data shows that locations like Orlando, Florida and Anaheim, California are most popular. Las Vegas, New York City and several other cities in Florida also top the list. In Illinois, nearly 1.3 million vehicles are expected to travel on the tollway system on Christmas Eve and 1.1 million on Christmas Day, according to Illinois Tollway. About 1.3 million vehicles are also expected on the tollway on Dec. 31, and 1.1 million on New Year's Day. On an average day, just under 1.6 million vehicles use the Illinois Tollway, the organization said.Ongoing construction activity will be restricted to better serve Tollway customers during holiday travel with any temporary maintenance and construction lane closures suspended from noon on Thursday through 9 a.m. on Dec. 27, and again from noon on Dec. 30, through 9 a.m. on Jan. 3. Some construction work zones may remain in place, so drivers are reminded to slow down and obey work zone speed limits. In the Chicago area, peak congestion will hit from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, according to AAA. The worst corridor to travel will be I-290 west, from Morgan Street to Wolf Road. Congestion will be 240 percent over normal, AAA said. INRIX, in collaboration with AAA, predicts only marginal delays overall throughout the holiday week, according to AAA. However, major metro areas across the U.S. could see more than double the delays versus typical drive times, with drivers in New York City likely to experience more than three times the delays. "With kids out of school and many Americans taking extended time off for the holidays, drivers will experience incremental delays throughout the week. Although congestion will be overall lighter than normal, knowing when and where major delays will likely happen will help save time and reduce stress this holiday season," Bob Pishue, a transportation analyst at INRIX, said in a release. If you do plan to travel on the roads in the days leading up to Christmas, AAA recommends that the best travel time is after 7 p.m. on Dec. 23 and before 1 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Minimal congestion is expected on Christmas Day, according to AAA.