Memorial Day traffic in NJ: A busy weekend is coming

More than a million New Jerseyans will travel at least 50 miles or more for this upcoming Memorial Day weekend, according to AAA/Mid-Atlantic.

AAA Spokeswoman Tracy Noble said most will drive: "It is no surprise ... Ninety percent of those traveling, about 919,000, are going to travel by automobile."

But those who will travel by air this weekend will also likely see a lot more traffic, as a AAA survey indicates air travel will be up 7 percent over 2017.

"And then we have 30,000 traveling by other mode of transportation, whether it be train, bus, watercraft or using multi modes of transportation," Noble said.

This represents an almost 5 percent increase in overall travel over last year and the most Memorial Day travel in more than a dozen years, according to AAA.

Noble also said the getaway will be a challenge ... even before the weekend begins

"The worst times, we believe, are going to be Thursday, May 24 and Friday, May 25, especially in the late afternoon." she said. "A lot of it will have to do with the Shore situation. Memorial Day being the unofficial kickoff. We typically see a lot of folks heading south on our roadways, and we also see motorists from other states coming into our state to hit Shore areas. So we are expecting most of our roadways to be very congested. But those that lead directly to the Shore will probably be the heaviest traveled."

Pump prices are knocking on the door of $3 per gallon heading toward the holiday. So with the big hike in gas prices, why so much road travel?

"Despite the increase in prices, that is still the most reasonable form of transportation, especially if you are traveling with a large family, if you have kids that you are taking to visit friends (or) family, or just heading down the shore to kick off the summer," Noble said.

Joe Cutter is the afternoon news anchor on New Jersey 101.5.