Pa. Turnpike Commission expects more than 2 million travelers to hit the road this weekend
It's Easter Weekend, and that means many people have plans to hit the road and spend time with family and loved ones.
According to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, they're expecting nearly 2.2 million people to use the Turnpike this weekend.
Relatively speaking, Saturday will be the lull period, if you will, for Pennsylvania Turnpike travel, meaning it is supposed to be the day with the fewest travelers.
The Pa. Turnpike Commission's projections have 480,000 travelers using the road on Saturday, which is down from the peak of Friday, 610,000. The bulk of travelers used Good Friday as their getaway day.
On Saturday, the number increases by 20,000 to 500,000 travelers. As many people will return home from their destinations on Monday, the number will once again go up, this time to nearly 600,000 travelers.
In all, that's a total of nearly 2.2 million people traveling on the turnpike this holiday weekend.
These projections, overall, are about 1.5% higher than last year's Easter Weekend.
Now, if you've got to fill up before hitting the road, just know it's going to cost you. According to AAA, the current average is $3.62/gallon in the Pittsburgh region. That's compared to the state average of $3.35/gallon.
In West Virginia, it's $3.06, and in Ohio, it's $3.09.
One last thing to note - right now, all turnpike construction work is suspended through Monday night at 11 p.m. in an effort to keep as many lanes open as possible.
There will also be heightened patrols to make sure that drivers are driving safely.
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