MA 2021 Thanksgiving Travel Guide: Live Traffic Updates

MASSACHUSETTS — Massachusetts travelers should be prepared for busier roads and airports this Thanksgiving than last year, as holiday travel approaches pre-pandemic levels

AAA is predicting a 13 percent increase in Thanksgiving travel this year over 2020, bringing total travelers within 5 percent of the 2019 number. That still means more than 53 million people will be hitting the road and heading to the airport this week.

Live Traffic Updates

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• It's still a relatively pain-free ride to Cape Cod once you get past Weymouth on Route 3 (3:59 p.m., Wednesday).
• There are reports of a rollover car crash with injuries in the tunnel on the westbound side of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Boston (3:55 p.m., Wednesday).
• Route 3 South is starting to get slow from Quincy to Norwell. After that, it's a speed-limit ride to the Sagamore Bridge (Wednesday, 2:15 p.m.)
• Traffic crawling out of Boston on Interstate 93 with tough sledding all the way to Wilmington. South of Boston, Interstate 93 is slow all the way to the Braintree split (Wednesday, 2:12 p.m.)
• Waze is showing at standstill traffic jam on Route 2 West in Lancaster (2:00 p.m., Wednesday).
• Police report a crash near 1910 Andover Street in Tewksbury (1:57 p.m., Wednesday).
• WBZ is reporting an eight-mile backup on the westbound side of Massachusetts Turnpike. Traffic starts to ease up near mile marker 89.4. The eastbound side is mostly problem free, with a slight backup near the I-290 exit (11:32 a.m., Wednesday).

• There is a two-mile slowdown on Interstate 495 South at at 290/85 exit (10:40 a.m. Wednesday).
• A crash just before the Ted Williams Tunnel on I-93 Northbound has been cleared. Traffic had been backed up all the way to Dorchester Yacht Club (10:36 a.m. Wednesday).

The map below shows real-time traffic conditions courtesy of Waze. You can use the search box at the bottom of the map to customize it to your travel plans. We'll also update this section with news of major backups as we hear about them:

If you have flexibility on when you leave, AAA predicts the best time for a pre-Thanksgiving road trip is after 9 p.m. Wednesday. For return trips leaving Boston after the holiday, the best time to leave is before noon Sunday. If you're driving on Thanksgiving Day, you should try to get on the road before 11 a.m.

This year is the biggest one-year increase in AAA's annual holiday travel forecast since 2005, although AAA noted fewer people might travel depending on coronavirus metrics.

If you do end up traveling this week, we have you covered. We'll be updating this story through Wednesday with the latest on travel conditions in New England.

Over 90 percent of travelers are expected to drive, but the biggest change is in terms of planes, trains and buses. Air travel is expected to nearly double, while bus and train travel will rise over 250 percent.

Drive times could more than double in some corridors, including on Interstate 93 northbound.

If you plan to travel from the Boston area and want to avoid the rush, be aware that the peak travel time is expected to be at 3:15 p.m., Wednesday, on that corridor.

If You're Traveling By Car

AAA is expecting 90 percent of all holiday travel to be done by car this year. Those driving will find higher gas prices, with the average national price per gallon up over a dollar from a year ago. Gas prices are at their highest in seven years.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you plan your trip:

• MassDOT will extend the hours of its high-occupancy vehicles lanes heading into the holiday weekend. The HOV lane between Boston and Quincy on Interstate 93 will be open between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday and from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday. The lane will be closed Thursday and Friday and return to normal hours next Monday.
• MassDOT will also be suspending construction operations statewide from 5 a.m. Tuesday to 9 p.m. Monday

Planes, Trains and Other Modes Of Travel

Air travel is expected to rebound almost fully from pandemic lows Thursday, with 80 percent more people taking to the skies this holiday than in 2020. Here are some resources for air travelers coming to and leaving from Boston's Logan International Airport:

• Monitor massport.com for updated airline and airport information and Transportation Security Administration carry-on luggage regulations. The Massport website allows travelers to check flight status, parking conditions and public transportation options from their smartphone or tablet. Massport also encourages travelers to check with their airlines before heading to the airport for the most updated flight status and travel information.
• Massport encouraged travelers to use MBTA transit or the Logan Express buses getting to and from the airport.
• Coronavirus testing is now available at Logan Airport’s Terminal E arrivals area and Terminal C departures. The testing facility, known as XPresCheck, is offering a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or nasal swab test, a blood antibody test, and will soon offer the rapid test.

The MBTA will run a regular, weekday scheduled on Wednesday. On Thursday, there will be no ferry service and the rest of the system will run on a Sunday schedule.

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