10 Stress-Reducing Travel Hacks for Memorial Day Drivers in Massachusetts

Memorial Day weekend historically means some of the busiest and most stressful holiday travel of the year, as everyone tries to simultaneously leave town and enjoy the nice weather.

With help from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, here's 10 tips for travelers ahead of the weekend:

• Sign up for free local news alerts and daily newsletters for your town

1. If you can, avoid driving between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Monday -- historically the heaviest traffic times.
2. Beware I-90 at the I-84 interchange at Exit 9 in Sturbridge on Friday and the I-90 Exit 11A, I-495 interchange, both of which are notoriously busy as people drive south to the Cape and north to New Hampshire and Maine.
3. Take advantage of technology. Dialing 511 or visiting mass511.com will give you a snapshot of real-time road conditions; www1.eot.state.ma.us/ shows traffic camera images covering portions of Route 3, Route 6, Route 28, and parts of I-90, I-91, I-93, and I-95; MassDOT's Ridewise app predicts travel times for various routes including Route 3, Route 6, I-93 and portions of I-90.
4. Obviously, MassDOT doesn't want you using any of these apps or websites if you're in the driver's seat. Be smart and stay safe, people.
5. Join the E-ZPass program to avoiding waiting in toll lines and wasting gas.
6. Fuel up on free coffee, served at 18 MassDOT service plazas from 11 p.m. on Memorial Day until 5 a.m. Tuesday.
7. If you can, just take public transit and avoid the whole driving mess. MassDOT notes the CapeFLYER weekend rail service to Cape Cod starts running Friday.
8. Additionally, the Amtrak Northeast Regional is advertising a three-day sale that runs through Thursday. The
9. MBTA will run its buses, subways and commuter rail lines on Memorial Day, but note that they will operate on a Sunday schedule.
10. Last but not least, the MassDOT recommends using, well, common sense. "... plan ahead, allow extra time for travel, and take advantage of the many communication tools now available to help trips go smoothly," it advises.

To mitigate traffic, MassDOT says it's suspending construction on major arterial roadways from Friday through Tuesday morning. The U.S Army Corps of Engineers also reports that there will be no lane restrictions on the Sagamore Bridge during the Memorial Holiday weekend period, MassDOT said.