Here’s The Best And Worst Times For Michiganders To Travel For The Holidays

It's one of the busiest travel times of the year and AAA has forecasted the best and worst times for people to be on the roads.

AAA estimates that over 53 million Americans will be traveling for Thanksgiving which is a substantial increase of 13% from the pervious year. That number is still down about 5% from 2019 due to people avoiding travel because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly 1.6 million Michiganders will be on the roads heading to visit family and friends over the Thanksgiving which is about 7% lower than pre-pandemic levels. But, even though there will be less people on the roads than in years past, it will still be pretty busy.

The busiest stretch of road in Michigan is estimated to be WB I-96 between 6 Mile Road and Walled Lake. The busiest time of day for that road will be on Wednesday between 2:00 - 4:00 pm with an estimated 211% increase in traffic. That stretch of WB I-96 will be one of the busiest roads in the country during the holidays.

Traffic in the Metro Detroit area of the state will be the busiest, but other major urban centers like Grand Rapids, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, and Flint / Saginaw will also see a large increase in traffic.

AAA provided a general guide as to when to travel on the roads with the best and worst times for you to hit the road over the next several days.

Best And Worst Times For Michiganders To Travel For The Holidays

AAA has also provided several tips about traveling during the holidays, which you can read on their website.