Hitting The Road? Here's NJ's Thanksgiving Travel Outlook

New Jerseyans should get heavy traffic - and travel delays - as more than 1 million people are expected hit the roads this week, the most during Thanksgiving week in a decade.

Some rain may slow travel for a time as Tuesday, Wednesday and Thanksgiving Day are expected to be among the busiest travel days in years, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).

AAA projects more than 1.3 million New Jerseyans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, up 3.5 percent from those who traveled for Thanksgiving 2016 and the largest projected number of travelers since 2007, according to spokeswoman Tracy Noble.

“Across the country, and in New Jersey, this Thanksgiving weekend is expected to be the busiest for the holiday in 10 years,” said Noble, a spokesperson for AA Mid-Atlantic. “A strong economy and labor market are generating rising incomes, driving up the confidence in consumers who are more willing to spend on travel this year.”

Indeed, volume for all modes of travel for the Thanksgiving weekend is anticipated to increase for 2017, with air travel anticipated to experience the biggest percentage growth, up 4.9 percent nationally and 5.4 percent in New Jersey, over the 2016 holiday.

“With more money in their pockets, consumers are willing to spend on air travel this year, which tends to be the more expensive mode of travel. However, this year flying for the holiday is not as expensive as other years with average airfares the lowest in five years,” said Noble. “Given the strong uptick in air travel projections, air passengers should plan to arrive at the airport at least two hours early in order to make their flights, as airports are expected to be exceptionally busy.”

Rain, meanwhile, is expected to hug the Atlantic coast, and wet weather is forecast to brush New Jersey late Tuesday night and early Wednesday, according to an Accuweather release.

"The combination of rain and a low cloud ceiling may also be enough to lead to airline delays in Boston and perhaps New York City for a time on Wednesday," according to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams.

While AAA expects most U.S. drivers will pay the highest Thanksgiving gas prices since 2014, the vast majority – more than 89 percent – of holiday travelers will drive to their destination this year.

More than 1 million New Jersey residents will take a holiday road trip this Thanksgiving, an increase of 3.4 percent over last year. Nationally, 45 million Americans are planning a Thanksgiving road trip which represents an increase of 3.2 percent over last year.

“At a time of year when gas prices typically decline, motorists are finding higher prices at the pump compared to last year,” Noble said. “Unfortunately, motorists filling up for their upcoming holiday trip will likely not find relief at the pump. However, once the holiday weekend is over prices should start to trend downward, as cooler weather becomes the norm and gasoline demand declines.”

AAA expects to rescue more than 330,000 motorists nationwide this Thanksgiving, with the primary reasons being dead batteries, flat tires and lockouts. Based on last year’s figures, AAA Mid-Atlantic anticipates coming to the aid of over 31,000 disabled motorists in the club’s five-state and Washington D. C. region, with over 7,500 of those breakdowns in New Jersey.

Click here for a list of traffic incidents, or click here for a live view of traffic on New Jersey roads.

Patch file photo