Labor Day 2024 Travel: Best And Worst Times To Get Out Of Town In VA

VIRGINIA — Residents of Northern Virginia and the rest of the state traveling for Labor Day can get their long weekend off to a good start by avoiding certain times when traffic is expected to be heavier than usual.

Thursday and Friday afternoons and evenings will see the most traffic congestion, transportation data provider INRIX said in AAA’s Labor Day travel trends report. Either morning is better, but people leaving on the weekend should wait until Saturday afternoon.

People who are returning home on either Sunday or Monday should leave as early as possible to avoid heavy afternoon traffic, INRIX said.

"Not everyone travels for Labor Day because kids are back in school," said Morgan Dean, the AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson in Virginia. "But many people try to squeeze in one last three-day weekend to end summer, while others may take off the week after Labor Day to kick off 'shoulder season' travel, which can mean lower travel costs and fewer crowds at many destinations in the United States and abroad."

Below are the worst and best times to travel by car this weekend:

Worst Times

• Thursday: 1-7:30 p.m.
• Friday: 2-6 p.m.
• Saturday: 8-11 a.m.
• Sunday: 2-8 p.m.
• Monday: 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
• Tuesday: 8 a.m.-12 p.m. noon

Best Times

• Thursday: before 11 a.m.
• Friday: before noon, after 7 p.m.
• Saturday: after 12 p.m noon
• Sunday: before 12 p.m. noon
• Monday: before 10 a.m.
• Tuesday: after 1 p.m.

If you’re traveling through the Washington, DC metro area, it’s a good idea to avoid southbound Baltimore-Washington Parkway from Baltimore to Washington during peak congestion around 3:15 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 2. The route is expected to see a 44 percent increase in traffic, resulting in a travel time of one hour and three minutes, according to INRIX.

The Virginia Department of Transportation has a travel trends map to help predict the worst congestion time on Virginia's interstates. VDOT expects heavier congestion Friday, Aug. 30 and Saturday, Aug. 31. In Northern Virginia and Fredericksburg, congestion is likely in the interstates from the mid-morning to early evening on Friday and Saturday. On Monday, VDOT expects northbound Interstate 95 to be heavily congested throughout the day. In Hampton Roads, heavy congestion is predicted on Interstate 64 throughout the holiday period, especially around bridges and tunnels.

VDOT will suspend many of its highway work zones and lane closures on interstates and major roads from noon Friday, Aug. 30 to noon Tuesday, Sept. 3. Semi-permanent work zones may remain in place.

For travel to Virginia Beach or North Carolina's Outer Banks, VDOT recommends peninsula traffic use the I-664 Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel instead of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. From there, drivers can take the Portsmouth/Norfolk exit (exit 15A) to I-264 east to Virginia Beach. Traffic to Outer Banks can take I-64 west (exit 15, Chesapeake/Virginia Beach) to exit 291B [Chesapeake Expressway (Route 168)/Great Bridge/Nags Head] and southbound Route 168 to the Outer Banks.

Gas prices will be above last year's average but remain above the pandemic-era 2020 and 2021 levels. The current gas price average is $3.22 across Virginia, down from $3.61 last year, according to AAA. Northern Virginia's gas price average is $3.36, compared to $3.74 a year ago.