Maryland State Highway Administrators Prepare for Busy Holiday Travel

FILE PHOTO

Thanksgiving is a time for family, food, football, and unfortunately traffic. According to the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA), the day before Thanksgiving is “notoriously referred to as the busiest travel day of the year.”

According to news release, Regina Cooper-Averella of AAA Mid-Atlantic says, more than one million Marylanders are expected to travel more than 50 miles this holiday season, due to cheaper gas prices.

SHA recently partnered with the Maryland Transportation Authority, Maryland State Police, and AAA representatives at a recent “Holiday Driving” event, to prepare and provide advice for the influx of traffic.

“We expect more than 2.7 million motorists this week on Maryland’s toll highways, bridges and tunnels, with more than half of those motorists on the I-95 corridor alone,” said Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Executive Director Milt Chaffee.  “Our focus this week is to keep traffic moving as safely and efficiently as possible.”

MDTA will have patrols known as Vehicle Recovery Technicians (VRTs) available to help stranded motorists. VRTs are especially helpful in areas where there are no standard shoulder lanes like bridges and tunnels.

Transportation authorities also urge travelers to plan ahead and keep up-to-date with traffic patterns.

“Invest time in making sure your trip goes smoothly– carefully choose your route, have a back up plan, and know before you go with the free 511 travel information service,” said Deputy State Highway Administrator and Chief of Operations Dave Coyne.  “By doing some time-saving research to learn about major incidents, delays, estimated travel times and weather conditions before getting behind the wheel, drivers can save time, fuel costs and frustration.”

The 511 free travel service can be called or accessed by visiting the website. The service provides estimate travel times, incident information, travel delays, weather updates, and additional information for those on the road.

For more tips about how to manage travel during the holiday season, you can visit the SHA website.

About Maureen Chowdhury

Maureen Chowdhury is a multimedia journalist with Montgomery Community Media. She can be reached at mchowdhury@mymcmedia.org and on Twitter at @MediaMaureen. Maureen authors the blog Sound Check on MyMCMedia.

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