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By KELLY HANNON
Thanksgiving gets all the attention, but the Fourth of July
With schools on vacation and state and federal work holidays, Americans have time to celebrate the nation's independence by driving.
This Fourth of July, travel club AAA predicts 37.1 million Americans will travel 50 miles or farther, a 1.9 percent decrease in travelers from last year's holiday.
Fourth of July travel is down 10.5 percent from 2007, when 42.3 million Americans went on vacation.
AAA officials think Fourth of July travel is down because Memorial Day weekend travel was up.
People have already had their taste of summer travel, said AAA spokeswoman Windy Van Curen in Richmond. Americans are worried about losing their jobs, and people are hanging onto their savings instead of taking a second trip, she said.
"They alleviated that pent-up demand on Memorial Day," Van Curen said. "We no longer have that pent-up demand for the Fourth of July."
TRAFFIC
The number of Virginians traveling this weekend--slightly more than 1 million people, out of a state population of 7.8 million--will be down 1.8 percent from last year's Fourth of July.
Nine in 10 Virginians who do travel will drive.
Interstate 95 between Washington and Richmond will be congested, just like any other holiday weekend, Van Curen said. Interstate 64 traffic between Richmond and Virginia Beach generally starts to slow around Williamsburg, she said.
Since Friday is a state and federal work holiday, Thursday afternoon on I-95 may look more like a standard Friday rush hour.
Expect lots of people to leave work early Thursday to squeeze in a 3-day holiday.
"They try to get that full day off, and don't want to spend it traveling in the car," Van Curen said.
After Thursday's early birds flee town, traffic will stay heavy most of Friday, and volume will increase again Sunday afternoon and evening as people return home, she said.
The Virginia Department of Transportation will suspend all road work from noon Thursday to noon Monday. Plus, all of the state's rest areas and welcome centers will be open for the holiday.
AIRFARE
Overall travel is down, but airports will be busy.
In Virginia, air travel for Fourth of July weekend is up 5.6 percent this year, and nationally 4.9 percent more travelers will be flying this weekend.
Lower ticket prices than last summer seems to be the main draw. The average domestic airfare for the Fourth of July is $169, according to AAA's Leisure Travel Index, which is 16 percent lower than last summer.
"You can get some great deals on airfare right now," Van Curen said.
HOV LANES
The High Occupancy Vehicle lane schedule on I-95/395 will vary from the usual times this weekend.
HOV lanes will be southbound Thursday from noon to 9 p.m. with the three-occupant minimum restrictions at rush hour.
The lanes will reverse and run northbound from 11 p.m. Thursday to Saturday at 8 p.m. All HOV restrictions will be lifted Friday.
However, HOV lanes will run southbound starting at 9:30 p.m. Saturday and stay southbound until Sunday at 1 a.m. as people depart Washington's festivities on the National Mall. The lanes will open to northbound traffic at 3 a.m. Sunday and stay northbound through Monday's morning rush hour.
WEATHER
Fourth of July weekend will start with highs in the upper 80s on Friday and mostly sunny skies, according to the National Weather Service. The Fourth of July forecast predicts cloudy skies with a high around 90, and a 30 percent chance of precipitation.
Sunday will be 86 degrees and sunny.
SAFETY
With so many vehicles on the road, the Fourth of July can be a dangerous time of year to drive.
Ten people were killed in traffic crashes over the four-day Fourth of July holiday last year in Virginia, and 179 people were injured.
Virginia State Police are launching an enforcement campaign for drunken driving this weekend, and police will be on patrol for other offenses, too. Last year state police wrote 7,943 citations for speeding during the Fourth of July holiday, along with 2,077 citations for reckless driving, 808 citations for seat belt violations, and 153 citations for DUIs.
A reminder: It's now illegal in Virginia to operate a moving motor vehicle and send or read text messages from a wireless device.
GAS PRICES
Here's something to celebrate. On the last Fourth of July, a gallon of gas in Virginia cost $3.97.
On Monday, gas prices averaged $2.52 a gallon in Virginia and $2.64 a gallon nationally.
Prices in the Fredericksburg area are even lower.
A Wawa gas station at 275 Butler Road in Stafford was selling the cheapest gas in the area at noon yesterday at $2.24 a gallon.
Rob Hedelt: 540/374-5415
Email: rhedelt@freelancestar.com
