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The roads, airports and train stations will be busy Fourth of July holiday weekend, as more than 72 million Americans are forecast to travel, according to AAA.
Tuesday was expected to be the busiest day of the holiday period on the nation’s roads.
The automotive club and insurance agency said its domestic travel forecast is up 1.7 million travelers compared to 2024 figures, and 7 million more than in 2019, before the pandemic.
AAA’s Independence Day forecast includes two weekends instead of one to better reflect the flow of holiday travelers. AAA says 61.6 million travelers will get to their destination by personal vehicles.
But a transportation expert said he believes travel trends are changing, and it looks like the nation’s roads and highways, while busy, may not be as congested as they have been in past years.
WTOP Traffic Reporter Dave Dildine said there is a reason more people are traveling, and more people are on the road earlier in the week. In some cases, people travel weeks before officially being on vacation.
This year, Independence Day also falls on a Friday, making it natural for a long, extended weekend. Plus, the nature of work has changed and with more people working remotely, people have more options.
“The concept of a getaway has shifted from a heavy travel period immediately preceding the holiday to a more spread-out traffic flow,” Dildine said. “The problem with the term getaway is that it conjures the image of a phenomenon that hasn’t much existed for a long time. So, we’ve ended up with a diffuse, heavy travel period over days or weeks.”
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While AAA said the majority of Americans traveling — almost 62 million — will make a journey by car, Dildine said the days of the last minute, last day holiday rush may be ending. That huge number, Dildine said, doesn’t mean there will be widespread gridlock.
“There are going to be backups on any day that ends in a ‘y,’ but overall, traffic levels are lower in the days before the holiday weekends now,” Dildine said.
AAA said when it comes to fuel prices, motorists will see significantly lower prices this Independence Day with unleaded gas averaging $3.19 a gallon, about 34 cents less than this time a year ago.
The 2025 projection for air travelers is a 1.4% increase over the previous record set last Independence Day week, which sat at 5.76 million air travelers.
AAA data also shows airline tickets are slightly more expensive than last year, with the average round-trip ticket now $810, 4% more than 2024.
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