Wet weather slowed down thousands of Thanksgiving Day travelers as they left the Washington area Wednesday.
About 824,000 Washingtonians headed out of town on Interstates 95, 270, 50 and 66 to give thanks and eat turkey with family and friends. Most of them expected to leave Wednesday and come back Sunday, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic travel club.
Although the Maryland State Highway Administration and the Virginia Department of Transportation suspended all construction to accommodate the heavy traffic, drivers were slowed by the “misty wet mess” on the roads, MSHA spokesman Charlie Gischlar said.
Accidents increased as the day progressed and traffic increased, causing stop-and-go traffic in some places.
“Everything can be exacerbated by even a fender bender on [this day],” said Corinne Geller, spokeswoman for Virginia State Police.
Meanwhile, air travelers were spared from significant delays at Washington airports. Ronald Reagan Washington National, Washington Dulles International and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall airports all reported that flights went smoothly, although fliers faced delays up to a half-hour at times.
Flights weren’t as smooth at other East Coast airports. Philadelphia International Airport had a ground delay, with flights more than two hours late or canceled entirely. Boston’s Logan International Airport and New York’s airports also had ground delays up to an hour.
Still, fliers faced airports and flights that weren’t as packed as in years past. The Thanksgiving travel period has been running 10 days long the past several years, starting the Friday before the holiday, according to Rob Yingling, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which runs Dulles and Reagan National.
“The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is generally the most expensive day to travel, and people are trying to fly on days that are not as expensive,” said Charlie Leocha, director of the Consumer Travel Alliance.
MWAA expects Sunday to be the next busy day for Thanksgiving travel, with 56,000 people traveling through Reagan National and 68,000 through Dulles.
Virginia and Maryland highway officials expect heavy traffic Sunday, but said it would be dispersed over the course of the day.
