Airline, highway and Amtrak officials expect increases in passengers and motorists over the Thanksgiving travel season.
“Generally speaking, you get a 4 or 5 percent increase [each year],” said David Buck, spokesman for the State Highway Administration. “We just always expect a tremendous amount of traffic before, after and during the Thanksgiving holidays.”
More than 648,000 vehicles are expected to travel through the Fort McHenry Tunnel in both directions from Wednesday through Sunday, according to Maryland Transportation Authority representative Kelly McCleary, an increase of 1.5 percent from last year.
The authority expects about 611,000 vehicles to travel Interstate 95 from White Marsh Boulevard to Perryville in both directions during that time, a 3 percent increase from last year. More than 393,000 vehicles are expected to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, also a 3 percent increase, McCleary said.
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport expects approximately 490,000 passengers between Monday and Nov. 27, a projected increase of .25 percent over last year, according to airport spokesman Jonathan Dean.
“The airport has seen increased passenger traffic throughout much of this year,” he said. “It will be busy, but the airport does not expect any significant problems.”
Nationally, a 4 percent increase in the number of passengers is expected from Friday through Nov. 27, according to the Air Transport Association of America, the U.S. airline trade organization.
The ATA estimates that planes will be on average 90 percent full, with the heaviest days Wednesday, Nov. 25 and Nov. 26.
Amtrak is also hit hard every year and expects a 30 percent jump in ridership from Tuesday through Nov. 25, according to Amtrak representative Tracy Connell. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Connell said Amtrak expects an 80 percent increase over a usual Wednesday with about 125,000 riders, against a usual 69,000.
Amtrak, which does not allow standing passengers, will compensate for the demand by adding more cars, especially in the very busy Northeast Corridor that includes Washington, D.C., and Baltimore’s Penn Station.
“Bookings have been strong ? but not sold out,” Connell said. “There?s still openings on some trains.”
Buck said travelers should have an alternate route and do their best to avoid peak travel times.
“Anyone who gets in their car at 4:30 p.m. the day before Thanksgiving and thinks they?re not going to sit in traffic is sadly mistaken,” he said.
Before you go
Motorists may view the latest traffic conditions on area highways through 60 live cameras and get the latest travel info by logging on to the State Highway Administration?s Web site at www.marylandroads.com
