Traveling this week for Thanksgiving Day? Here’s what York County residents need to know
Despite higher gas prices, about 650,000 South Carolinians will hit the road for Thanksgiving Day, traveling 50 or more miles to spend time with family and friends for a holiday getaway.
The number of Thanksgiving Day travelers, which includes 1.4 million in North Carolina, is up 3.3 percent compared to last year, according to AAA.
And that comes despite gasoline prices that are 44 cents a gallon more expensive in 2017 than for Thanksgiving 2016.
“Despite higher gas prices this year, Carolinians are still planning to hit the roads in record-breaking numbers to spend time with family and friends,” says AAA President and CEO Dave Parsons.
Travelers will be aided by good weather, for the most part, and the suspension of most highway construction projects.
Meanwhile, another 49,000 South Carolina residents will fly to their Thanksgiving destinations, according to AAA. They will be taking advantage of air fares that have fallen 23 percent over the past year and are the cheapest for Thanksgiving travel in five years.
Here is what to know about Thanksgiving travel:
▪ Busy on the roads: The most-congested highway conditions will be Wednesday and Sunday, according to AAA. The travel app Waze predicts the worst times to travel will be 3-5 p.m.
Wednesday, noon-2 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, 2-4 p.m. Friday, 2-5 p.m. Saturday and 4-6 p.m. Sunday.
The S.C. Department of Transportation says all non-emergency highway work will be suspended from noon Wednesday until 6 a.m. Monday.
▪ ‘Drinksgiving’: Thanksgiving eve rivals New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day as the times when people are most likely to drive after drinking, according to AAA. Tiffany Wright of the AAA’s Carolinas Traffic Safety Foundation said the day before Thanksgiving has come to be known as Blackout Wednesday or Drinksgiving.
“With so many ride-sharing services available, such as Uber and Lyft, there is no excuse for getting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol,” Wright says. Highway patrols in both South Carolina and North Carolina say they will have stepped-up patrols for the rest of the week, to watch for drunk drivers and aggressive driving.
▪ Gas prices: The average price for a gallon of gas in South Carolina is $2.28, according to AAA. That is up 44 cents from last Thanksgiving and is the highest since 2014, when gas was selling for $2.56.
Gas prices in North Carolina are 32 cents higher than a year ago, averaging $2.40.
▪ Flying: Officials at Charlotte Douglas International Airport say Wednesday and Sunday will be the busiest days, with Tuesday and Monday close behind. About 31,160 passengers are expected to use the airport Sunday, with 30,160 predicted for Wednesday. The lightest travel day is Thanksgiving, with 13,340 passengers expected to use the airport. That is in addition to the 100,000 passengers who fly through Charlotte to make connections, according to airport officials.
As expected, parking will be at a premium. Airport officials encourage travels to check the website, cltairport.com/Parking, or the Twitter feed @CLTAirport.
Airport officials also say the cell phone lot is now next to Long Term Lot 1.
This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Traveling this week for Thanksgiving Day? Here’s what York County residents need to know."