File photo: WRN
It will likely be a busy week on the roads in Wisconsin and across the country, as millions head out for an extended Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Auto club AAA projects 41 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Independence Day holiday weekend, a 1.9 percent increase from last year. In Wisconsin, the percentage is even higher. Nearly 872,000 people are expected to travel for the Fourth, a 2.2 percent increase compared to last year. Pam Moen with AAA-Wisconsin says “it really is a good news message about how people are feeling about the economy, and how they’re looking to getting out and enjoying an extended weekend or maybe longer vacation with their family.”
Moen says the Fourth of July holiday is typically the busiest summer travel holiday, mostly because school is out for the summer. The fact that Independence Day falls on a Friday this year is likely providing a boost as well, since many people automatically get the Fourth off each summer. Moen believes that’s also the reason behind a 14 percent boost in the number of people that are expected to travel, compared to just this past Memorial Day weekend.
The holiday travel period starts on Wednesday and goes through Sunday.
Jackie Johnson contributed to this report.