Memorial Day Travel: See Gas Price Trends In NJ

NEW JERSEY — Filling up the gas tank for Memorial Day travel in New Jersey is cheaper this year than in 2022, and experts say it will be a busy weekend on the Turnpike and other highways around the state.

More than 5 million people are expected to travel in the region for Memorial Day, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey predicts. With parades and events along the Shore this weekend and Taylor Swift's three-night stay at MetLife Stadium, traffic will likely be heavy on major New Jersey roadways.

Gas prices are lower this Memorial Day holiday than last year, when the national average was more than $4 a gallon according to AAA.

Friday’s national average for a regular unleaded gallon of gas was $3.57, compared to $4.60 a year ago. New Jersey’s average gas price was $3.52, with prices as low as $3.08 according to GasBuddy and AAA.

Prices may rise at your local gas station as the weekend draws nearer.

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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has suspended all ongoing repairs and construction projects at its crossings from 5 a.m. Friday, May 26, to 5 a.m. Tuesday, May 30.

"Based on recent travel trends, as many as 3.4 million vehicles are expected to cross the Port Authority’s bridges and tunnels over the same holiday weekend period, similar to pre-pandemic 2019 actual traffic volumes," said the Port Authority.

AAA predicts that the busiest time in New Jersey will be Monday around 8 p.m., as people make their way north to the New York City area from the Shore region using Garden State Parkway North. There will be an 87 percent increase in traffic on the Parkway around this time, per AAA predictions.

Travel dates for this weekend are Thursday-Monday. Transportation data company INRIX predicts that the busiest days will be Thursday and Friday from 3-6 p.m., and Monday from noon-3 p.m.

The lightest traffic days will be Saturday and Sunday, INRIX and AAA predicted. Tuesday, May 30 is expected to be a busy travel day in the evening rush hour.

More than 37 million people will hit the road for Memorial Day across the United States, according to AAA.

Though the roads are expected to be busy, traffic on New Jersey highways may not be quite as heavy as it was before the pandemic.

“Despite the lower prices at the pump, car travel this holiday will be shy of pre-pandemic numbers by about 500,000 travelers,” AAA said in their Memorial Day travel forecast.

“This is expected to be the third busiest Memorial Day weekend since 2000, when AAA started tracking holiday travel,” said Paula Twidale, Senior Vice President of AAA Travel. “More Americans are planning trips and booking them earlier, despite inflation. This summer travel season could be one for the record books, especially at airports.”