The last long weekend of the 2013 summer is upon us and it should be a busy one on highways across the region and the country. AAA Travel is projecting more people are planning to get away this Labor Day weekend compared to last year. Driving remains the most popular form of transportation. The AAA expects more than 29 million Americans will be traveling by automobile.
"About 85 percent of travelers this weekend will be traveling by car. Altogether, 34.1 million people are traveling. That's actually up about four percent from last year. So if you thought last year was busy, this year will be even busier," AAA of Western and Central New York spokesperson Steve Pacer says.
The skies will also be busy. Pacer says air travel is expected to increase nearly three percent.
"We're seeing a lot of positive economic signs. The housing market is strong. Consumer confidence is up. Unemployment is down a little bit. So what we're seeing is that's prompting people who normally wouldn't travel to travel. It's the highest volume we've seen since the 2008 recession," Pacer says.
To help ease congestion in advance of the holiday rush, most construction projects on the New York State Thruway and other state highways will be suspended until Tuesday.