AAA predicts more than 2 million New Englanders are going to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and drivers and road crews are preparing for the volume.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is monitoring traffic, with highway signs reminding people to think about traveling early. Major highways, including the Massachusetts Turnpike were gridlocked during peak times last year.
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Cars.com cited the Mass. Pike east at Boston University Bridge to Oak Street as one of the 10 worst traffic spots in the country for Thanksgiving.
According to Google, the best time to leave Boston before Thanksgiving was Wednesday at 3 a.m. The absolute worst time will be around 3 p.m. Wednesday.
AAA says you can expect two-and-a-half times the normal delays. More than one million people in Boston are expected to hit the roads, they say.
The Interstate 93 HOV lane between Boston and Quincy is open Wednesday from 2 to 8 p.m. to help keep the extra traffic moving.
Construction workers will also take a break on highway projects starting Wednesday at noon.
“During the holiday season, millions of people will travel across the Commonwealth to be with loved ones, and we are making it a priority to keep the roads safe,” Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said. “We encourage everyone to travel safely and limit dangerous behaviors like distracted or impaired driving."
People throughout the region began plotting their course of travel early.
"In past years, I left on Wednesday to pick up my mom in southern Rhode Island and it’s always been crazy," Melrose resident Kate House said. "So I thought I’d get ahead of it, lose a little bit of time on Tuesday, but at least we’ll have it out of the way."
"I got in on Saturday, came up here from New York, because my parents moved, to see some of my friends," said college student Asa Sweetser. "We did plan our travel around the amount of traffic there is because there’s always so much."
About 28.5 million people across the country will be flying over the weekend. Massport CEO-Thomas Glynn suggests TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry for shortening wait times in security lines.
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Michael McCarthy, a TSA spokesperson, still recommends getting to the airport an hour earlier than normal and to contact them if you have questions about what you can bring in your carry on.
"You can tweet us in real time and ask us whether or not you should put a certain item in your carry on luggage or checked luggage, or maybe neither," McCarthy said. "Ask us that before you get in line. Once you get in line it's often too late."
Delays were minimal at Boston's Logan Airport Tuesday afternoon and again on Wednesday morning.
"I got the earliest flight out," said Tamra Fisher, who arrived at Logan to visit family. "So far, so good. Checked my bag in like 30 seconds. It doesn't look that bad."
Some people who were making their way out of Logan said leaving early had its advantages."I dunno, it's moving pretty fast," said Boston's John Paul Berexa of the security line. "Maybe the TSA finally got their act together."
"My husband likes to make sure we're early," added Diane Nargassans who was traveling to Texas.
The MBTA said that riders should regularly check in on the status of their train or bus for potential delays over the holiday.
Last year, AAA said they expected more than 48 million Americans to drive or fly somewhere for Thanksgiving.
