As Independence Day draws closer, travel numbers are projected to surpass previous highs. Citing the three-day weekend as one cause, AAA says the holiday will bring the highest volume of automobile and air travelers on record. 

Tom Baran, traffic specialist for AAA Northern New England, says the company is expecting 72.2 million people to travel at least 50 miles from home for the holiday. 

Due to the positioning of July 4th on a Friday, many have decided to take one or two extra days off work in order to extend the three-day weekend. This will bring some travelers to the road on Wednesday and Thursday; however, the worst traffic is coming on the weekend. 

The worst time to travel over the weekend, according to AAA, is between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. 

While typical travel would happen before Independence Day celebrations, Baran cites Saturday turnover days for rental homes as a potential cause for increased traffic. “We do see Saturday, also a little bit of an increase, so we’re going to see traffic both ways.” 

Despite the potential for slower roads on Saturday, Baran says Sunday is the most important day to look out for. “We do expect a really high volume of traffic for people heading home on Sunday,” said Baran. “People should really watch what they want to do for Sunday travel, either wait late or go really early.”