Many families are heading out for the long holiday weekend and according to AAA, Wednesday afternoon is supposed to be the most crowded time on I-64.
If you’re loading up the car or packing your bags for the airport it is important to know that you will be joining an expected 53 million others traveling.
As far as air travel, it’s suggested you arrive two hours early for domestic flights and three for international, especially because there could be longer lines at security checkpoints.
AAA predicts Thanksgiving travel to rebound to nearly pre-pandemic levels. This is in part because the U.S. borders are open to vaccinated travelers and people are feeling more confident about traveling.
The communications manager for the Hampton Roads Division of VDOT said they have noticed an uptick in accidents in the past few months. She wants to remind everyone to try and lessen any distractions. “So if they plan to drink, have a designated driver. Make sure they’re buckling up, making sure everyone in their car is buckled up. [Make sure you’re] slowing down for any sort of impediments in the roads and using turn signals for changing lanes and turns."
VDOT wants you to know it is even lifting HOV restrictions to help move traffic along and the third lane on the I-64 widening project has been opened in both directions.
I-64/I-264/I-564 HOV Diamond Lanes and I-64 Express Lanes – HOV Restrictions and Express Lanes tolls will be lifted on Thursday, Nov. 25.
The I-64 Express Lanes in Norfolk are free and open to motorists outside of normal operating hours. To learn more about the 64 Express Lanes, visit www.64expresslanes.org.
If you’re about to hit the road, you can upload the VDOT 511 mobile app and of course, if you’re staying local and celebrating, a ride service like Uber or Lyft is a good idea. In fact there are specials going on tonight in select cities like Richmond.
Below is a list of areas where the Uber special is running and it is called “Zero Hour.” If you sign a pledge to drink responsibly on Budweiser’s social media, in these 30 cities, bargoers can enjoy $25 off their ride home with Uber from the bar on Thanksgiving Eve.
Budweiser Zero x Uber City Guide
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Phoenix, AZ
- St. Louis, MO
- Denver, CO
- Atlanta, GA
- New York, NY
- Minneapolis/St Paul, MN
- Philadelphia, PA
- Washington DC
- Seattle/Tacoma, WA
- Detroit, MI
- Indianapolis, IN
- Columbus, OH
- Cincinnati, OH
- Tampa/St Petersburg, FL
- Cleveland, OH
- Kansas City, MO
- Richmond, VA
- Flint, MI
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Charlotte, NC
- Greensboro, NC
- Raleigh/Durham, NC
- Greensville, SC
- Orlando, FL
- Nashville, TN
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Wichita, KS
- Las Vegas, NV
Related: Best, worst travel times per day over Thanksgiving holiday
