Jared Sullivan is one of the 931,000 Massachusetts residents who AAA Northeast estimates will hit the road this holiday weekend -- and not just heading down the Cape or up to Maine.

"We've got a wedding in Virginia, and then heading to North Carolina the rest of the week, down to see Asheville," Sullivan said when necn interviewed him about 1:30 p.m. at the Framingham service area on the Massachusetts Turnpike westbound.

The smart move Sullivan made was to leave his East Boston home at noon, because all over eastern Massachusetts, the strategy of "leaving early to beat the traffic" was falling apart my mid-afternoon.

"We're trying to leave at times when it's not rush hour, but we'll hit it, probably, somewhere in New York or Philly," Sullivan acknowledged.

AAA Northeast is estimating about zero 0.7 percent more Americans will make a road trip of 50 miles or more this weekend, which would be the most travelling since 2007.

"That's driven by the lowest gasoline prices in five years and by the fact that we are almost a full dollar lower in price at the pump than we were at this time last year, so a Fourth of July getaway becomes a lot more affordable for people," said AAA Northeast spokeswoman Mary Maguire.

Maguire said the drive to drive also reflects a better economy.

"Unemployment is down, the economy is steadily and slowly improving, and so people have a little bit more disposable income to take a vacation," she said. "We also have what looks to be a terrific weather forecast."

Bethany Gerry headed out from Standish, Maine, to her friend's wedding weekend in Hyannis a little after noon, and by 6 pm, she was still on the mainland side of the Sagamore Bridge, at the Shell station off Skaket Beach Road.

"It was pretty bad. The last 40 miles of our trip was pretty much bumper to bumper - not fun," Gerry said.

Still, she was excited for a big Cape weekend.

"It's been a long day, but it's OK, it'll be worth it," she said.

Besides the chronic trouble spots - the I-495 and I-84 Mass. Pike interchanges, the approaches to the two Cape bridges - an unexpected problem definitely worth noting - is lane closures planned from 9 p.m. Thursday through 5 a.m. Friday on Interstate 91 north in Springfield. These could snarl Connecticut-to-Vermont vacation travellers and people heading up to Western Massachusetts. Two northbound lanes of 91 are closing from for emergency viaduct repairs on the elevated highway between State Street and Interstate 291, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Traffic may be worse than ever. But information about traffic is more abundant than ever, and worth checking.

"We have the live traffic cams. We have plenty of great mobile apps to use and we also have the 511 travel information service which allows travelers to call and find out what the backup, what the situation is," explained Maguire.

With videographer Marc Jackson