If you are planning to hit the road for the July Fourth holiday weekend, you certainly will not be alone.

Traffic jam
Maciej Korzekwa, ThinkStock
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More than 1.2 million New Jersey residents will travel 50 miles or more from home during the holiday, which is a one percent increase over last year, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. Of those travelers, more than eight in 10 will be traveling by automobile.

Nationally, 41.9 million Americans will travel for the Independence Day holiday, which is defined as Wednesday, July 1 through Sunday, July 5.

"The Fourth of July is typically the busiest summer travel holiday, with 295,000 more New Jerseyans traveling this weekend compared to Memorial Day," said Tracy Noble, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Travel by Mode of Transportation:

Automobile:

  • New Jersey - 1,061,778 (85 percent of travelers), an increase of .8 percent from last year;
  • Nationally - 35.5 million (85 percent of travelers), up .7 percent from 2014.

Air:

  • New Jersey - 94,206 (7.5 percent of travelers), an increase of 1.4 percent from those who flew in 2014;
  • Nationally - 3.2 million (7.7 percent of travelers), up 1.5 percent from last Fourth of July.

Other Mode:

  • New Jersey - 98,341 (7.8 percent of travelers), an increase of 3.2 percent from 2014;
  • Nationally - 3.2 million (7.6 percent of travelers), up 0.5 percent from last year.

"July 4th gas prices are expected to be the lowest in five years," Noble said. "While some consumers are using their recent savings on gas to pay down debt and save, overall, people are planning to travel in record numbers."

Today, the average price for a gallon of gas is $2.61, 96 cents less than the average price of gas on Independence Day last year. The average price of gasoline is $2.96 in New York, $2.89 in Pennsylvania and $2.70 in Delaware.

Some travelers might hit a snag in their plans. In fact, AAA expects to rescue nearly 7,500 New Jersey motorists at the roadside on July Fourth. Most of the service calls will be for flat tires, dead batteries, and lockouts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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