The day before Thanksgiving, travelers driving from the Washington, D.C., area to their destinations left early, some hours early.
Even as holiday travel was winding down and millions of people were expected to head out on the road and enjoy friendly skies, Washington, D.C.-area roads Wednesday saw “the busiest day of the year.” It wasn’t a day with a lot of things.”
“It’s not even the busiest of the Thanksgiving holiday period,” said WTOP traffic reporter Dave Dildin. “Tuesday and a few days last week were much worse.”
AAA said “peak traffic congestion” in the area began at 2 p.m., and travel time lasted just over an hour.
“Traffic on the region’s highways is expected, but it doesn’t resemble a Friday afternoon in the summer,” said Dave Dildin, a traffic reporter with the WTOP Transportation Center. “There was nothing outrageous or unexpected about the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.”
Some people got an early start by departing Tuesday night, but the Transportation Security Administration said there were crowds at Reagan National Airport Wednesday morning, with as many as 7,000 more air travelers expected. was.
On the road: “We’re entering rush hour.”
According to AAA, more than 1.3 million D.C. area residents are expected to be out during the holiday season.
Some of them were already halfway through their trip Wednesday morning to avoid Wednesday afternoon crowds.
“Actually, I left yesterday,” said the driver, who was heading from South Carolina to visit his daughter in New Jersey.He stopped at a rest stop on Interstate 95 northbound in Dale City, Virginia, before sunrise to stop at WTOP. told.
He added that his strategy is to “drive in the middle of the night when there are fewer cars on the road.” So far so good, but rush hour is here and I have to start working again. ”
Another traveler heading to Pennsylvania had similar thoughts. “I left at 10 o’clock last night. When I finished work, there was no one on the road.”
He didn’t seem to be too affected by the lack of sleep and was expected to be back with his family by late Wednesday morning. “I had coffee at the first stop, but I’m used to driving.”
A traveler who left Georgia with his family on Tuesday afternoon still had hours left until he reached his destination. “We’re going to New Jersey, staying with family and having Thanksgiving dinner,” he said.
TSA is ‘fully staffed’ in preparation for holiday travel
Reagan National Airport was packed with travelers as the TSA expected to screen an additional 6,000 to 7,000 passengers at the airport alone on Wednesday.
TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein told WTOP that the agency is ready to screen and screen passengers.
“We have fully staffed checkpoints across the country,” Farbstein said.
She advised those waiting in line to take out anything in their pockets and put everything in their carry-on bags to keep things running smoothly.
Fahlbstein said passengers traveling with solid holiday food such as roasted turkey can pass through security, but liquids and spreadable items such as gravy must be screened.
Throughout the morning, the number of security lines increased and decreased. At around 6:30 a.m., the line through the North Security Checkpoint stretched around the information desk, but at other times the security checkpoint was fairly empty. WTOP’s Scott Gellman, who was at the airport, said there was a steady flow of people in the TSA pre-screening line into the afternoon.
Passengers told WTOP that they expected a busier-than-usual travel day and many passengers arrived early.
“I made sure to arrive two hours early,” said Georgetown University student David Stewart.
Annie, who was traveling to Boston, said she had never seen lines this long at an airport.
“Normally it’s just a breeze going by, but it kind of surprised me. But it’s also the day before Thanksgiving,” she said.
WTOP’s Tadiwosu Abeje contributed to this article.