Memorial Day Traffic Predictions

By Idy Perl

If you’re planning to travel over the next few days, don’t. 

Memorial Day weekend is upon us, and AAA is predicting record breaking traffic as more than 44 million Americans across the US make travel plans, with 2.8 million of that in New York state alone. 

AAA has crunched some data and published the best times to travel and when to avoid the roads. 

A review of last year’s Memorial Day weekend MTA data showed the most traffic between 3-6PM on Thursday and 2-4PM on Friday. Public transportation is still the best option for travel over the next few days, but if you must travel by car here’s some information you might want to know:

For today and Friday, the worst time to drive will be between 12-6PM. Try to leave before 11AM or after 7PM (not on Friday of course) to avoid the worst of the traffic. 

Sunday will likely see heavy traffic going back into the city, so try to avoid it between 3-7PM. 

On Monday, Memorial Day, expect gridlock traffic for most of the afternoon. The traffic should ease up after 7PM. 

The Verrazzano Bridge is also expected to see heavy traffic Thursday and Friday morning, as well as Sunday afternoon and Monday evening.