Record-Breaking Travel Expected After 4th of July Weekend

A record-breaking amount of travelers are expected to be on the roads, rails, and in the air after the 4th of July weekend in the U.S. AAA is estimating more than 70 million people are traveling 50 miles or more for the long holiday weekend, with the vast majority of them driving home on Sunday. The busiest travel day of the season may be compounded by yesterday's AMTRAK shutdown and the ongoing Sumner Tunnel closure. A power outage forced Amtrak to halt service between Penn Station in New York and South Station for most of the day yesterday.

Normal service resumed around 9:45 last night, but this really threw a wrench into people's travel plans. Gas prices are about 3 cents cheaper than this time last year at around $3.50 on average. An estimated 3.7 million people are also expected to fly on Sunday and Monday, followed by around 3.5 million flying home on Tuesday, according to Hopper. Meanwhile, the Sumner Tunnel is closed for the second summer in a row for a $160 million dollar renovation project. About 39,000 drivers use the tunnel every day, especially people north of the city who need to get to and from Logan Airport.

The promise of blistering heat, beautiful beaches, and some delicious food attracted people across the country to travel into Southern California during the Fourth of July weekend. AAA predicted that nearly 71 million Americans would travel more than 50 miles during the Independence Day week. Car travel was busy as well, with the national average gas prices lower than this time last year. Those returning home after a road trip on Sunday should avoid the roads between 2-8 p.m., as that's when the traffic will hit its peak.