4th of July Virginia Travel: Traffic Backed Up 15 miles on I-95

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — The holiday traffic is in full swing Friday afternoon, with traffic backed up more than 15 miles on Interstate 95 heading through Fredericksburg.

More than 1 million Virginians were expected to hit the road this weekend — the busiest travel period of the summer, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

“Spurred by the lowest gas prices since 2005, more people than ever are planning to travel this Independence Day weekend,” said Marshall Doney, AAA President and CEO. “We are well on our way for 2016 to be a record-breaking year for summertime travel.”

Other delays Friday afternoon included:

• backups for 4 miles heading south at Quantico
• backups for 5 miles heading north in Woodbridge
• backups nearly 5 miles heading north on I-95 in Alexandria

see the latest traffic info at Virginia 511

Motorists should be on their best behavior. The Virginia State Police has increased patrols through the busy travel weekend.

"Within these past few weeks, Virginia has witnessed an alarming number of fatal traffic crashes across the Commonwealth,” said Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, state police superintendent. “Traffic crashes and deaths are prevented when drivers and passengers simply follow the rules of the road – this includes never driving impaired, avoiding distractions while driving and always wearing a seatbelt.”

Last year, during the 2015 July Fourth weekend, Virginia troopers arrested 96 drunk drivers and cited 8,978 speeders and 2,266 reckless drivers. They also cited 828 individuals for failing to wear a seat belt and 329 motorists for child safety seat violations during the three-day statistical counting period.

Includes reporting by Mary Ann Barton