Credit: Beasley Media
Memorial Day Weekend is associated with many happy memories. The start of summer, debut days at the beach, shore barbeque kickoffs, and more.
However, there is one cloud that hovers over a seemingly perfect holiday: Memorial Day Weekend traffic.
For those Philadephians that migrate to the Jersey Shore, the drive to and from is characterized by painstaking slow-downs and ever-increasing estimated time of arrivals.
This year, the American Automobile Association (AAA) projects more than 525,000 Philadelphia-area residents will travel over the long weekend, 90% of which are expected to travel by car.
Jana Tidwell, manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic, shared how despite current economic conditions, AAA is expecting a slight increase in year over year travel.
“People are finding a way because they want to travel,” Tidwell said.
In order to get ahead of this year’s MDW traffic, here are a few important things to know:
Tidwell said the best strategy to mitigate traffic is to travel early in the morning or later in the evening, avoiding the peak hours of Thursday, Friday, and Monday afternoon.
It’s also crucial to be aware of construction or road closures that could lead to congestion.
Brad Rudolph, District 6 Press Officer for PennDOT, said that contractors and maintenance staff will not be restricting traffic over the holiday period unless there is an emergency. However, there will be some work taking place on roadways through the Friday before the holiday.
According to PennDOT’s traffic bulletin, this Thursday there will be two closures on I-76. The first is a bridge inspection on I-76 E & W that will occur from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., resulting in a right lane closure between Girard Ave. and Montgomery Dr.
The second area affected are the ramps to-and-from Girard Ave. on I-76 E. Because of milling, paving, and bridge repairs, there will be full ramp closures from 9 p.m to 5 a.m. The construction will carry on into Friday, leading to another ramp closure from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
In New Jersey, there is some reported construction on NJ 42 Southbound. On Thursday, the right shoulder of NJ 42 Southbound will be closed between North of CR 655/Fries Mill Rd and Watson Dr from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., followed by a right lane closure between North of CR 655/Fries Mill Rd and CR 555/Stagecoach Rd from Thursday at 8 p.m. to Friday at 6 a.m.
Valuable resources for motorists to use this weekend are 511PA or 511NJ, which are free and available 24 hours a day. These sites provide traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. They will be helpful when planning travel routes and choosing the best time of day to depart for the shore.
Even if some MDW traffic is inevitable, hopefully this information can knock at least a few minutes off of your travel time.
