CA July 4th Traffic: Best, Worst Times To Hit The Road This Weekend

CALIFORNIA — Friday is not only going to be the busiest travel day of the Fourth of July weekend, it's also expected to be the busiest air travel day — ever — in the United States. Experts are forecasting a record-breaking Independence Day with millions taking to the skies and hitting the road.

The Transportation Security Administration expects some 2.8 million passengers to pass through airport security Friday. The American Automobile Association predicts 5.6 million Californians will travel for the holiday, representing a 5 percent increase over last year.

California's AAA branches note that motorists can avoid headaches by staying off the road during peak travel between noon and 6 p.m.

AAA has also offered a national traffic forecast:

• Thursday: Worst time, 4-6 p.m.; best time, before noon.
• Friday: Worst time, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; best time, before 10 a.m., after 6 p.m.
• Saturday: Worst time, 1 p.m.; best time, before noon.
• Sunday: Minimal traffic impact expected.
• Monday: Minimal traffic impact expected.
• Tuesday: Worst time, 12-3 p.m.; best time, before 11 a.m., after 6 p.m.
• Wednesday: Worst time, 3-6 p.m.; best time, before 2 p.m.

The top destinations for Southern Californians are expected to be Las Vegas, San Diego, the Central Coast, Mexico and the Grand Canyon, according to the Auto Club of Southern California. So you can expect some of the worst congestion in the region to occur on the 15 Freeway heading toward Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon, according to INRIX.

The normally four-hour drive is likely to take six hours during that time, according to the transportation data company.

If you’re traveling by air, check the status of your flight on FlightAware.com, as airports brace for travel nearly equal to pre-pandemic levels.

Los Angeles International Airport officials expect 3 million people will pass through LAX, alone, over the long Independence Day weekend. Parking structures were nearing capacity Thursday, airport officials said.

Complicating matters for air travel are airline staffing shortages and severe storms on the East Coast. The impacts of that have been felt particularly hard at San Francisco International Airport, where ABC 7 reported Thursday morning some travelers had been stranded at the airport for days.

Flight Aware showed more than 100 delays at SFO as of Thursday morning and more than 30 cancelations. Airport officials say they expected operations to improve heading into Friday.