DOT Predicts Worst Holiday Traffic Times in Milwaukee
If you’re hitting the road for the holidays, the best day to get through Milwaukee is Wednesday, December 23. The worst day is Christmas Eve. That’s according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
The DOT looked at traffic data from past years to predict when we’ll see higher congestion in the metro Milwaukee area.
Here are the busiest times:
Christmas Eve – 7 AM to Midnight
Christmas Day – 9 AM to 11 PM
New Year’s Eve – 7 AM to 8 PM
New Year’s Day – 8 AM to 10 PM
A number of factors contribute to delays including weather, incidents, special events and construction. The DOT also expects to see more drivers on the roads this holiday season.
In fact, AAA is predicting the number of year-end holiday travelers will top 100 million for the first time. That’s a 1.4% increase over last year. It breaks down to about one in every three Americans.
The improving economy is a big reason for the increase in travelers. People have more confidence they can afford to travel for the holidays. Low gas prices are another reason.
"This year we've seen prices that were anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar below what they were a year ago at that time. That's given folks a lot of accumulated savings that they can put towards making a trip for the holidays this year," Nick Jarmusz, Director of Public Affairs for AAA, said.
The average price for a gallon of regular gas was $1.90 in the Milwaukee-Waukesha area on Wednesday morning, according to AAA’s daily fuel gauge report. A year ago on the same date, it was $2.29 a gallon.
The year-end holiday travel period starts Wednesday, December 23 and runs through Sunday, January 3rd, 2016.