KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — AAA expects Wednesday, Nov. 22, to be the busiest day on the roads this Thanksgiving. The association said in a release that around 1.3 million Tennesseeans are expected to travel this holiday week — 1.25 million will drive, AAA said.
The worst time to travel, according to AAA, is between 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday. If you're planning on leaving on Wednesday, AAA said you should leave before 11 a.m.
"One thing about East Tennessee is, certainly we can see a lot of congestion on our roadways," said Mark Nagi, a TDOT community relations officer. "We think that things are going to be very, very busy on our East Tennessee roadways."
Nagi encouraged drivers to travel outside of peak times. AAA said the best times to travel would be before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, before 10 a.m. on Thursday or after 5 p.m. on Thursday.
TDOT will temporarily pause lane closures on state routes and interstates during Thanksgiving week to avoid more delays. Nagi said those will be on hold from 12 p.m. Wednesday to after 6:30 a.m. on Monday.
TDOT asks people to use the SmartWay website to know traffic and lane closures before leaving for the holidays.
In the air, McGhee Tyson Airport said this year has already set records for the airport. June and July set records and October was the busiest month for the airport ever, spokesperson Caitlin Darras said.
"Not only are we going to be busy this travel season, we are busy all the time at McGhee Tyson," Darras said. "We recommend you get to the airport at least two hours before your flight."
Darras said Wednesday and Sunday will be the busiest days at McGhee Tyson this week.