FILE PHOTO -- Steve Griffin, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — Drivers heading to family gatherings near and far should plan on longer travel times with Thanksgiving delays this week.
It’s the mother of all travel weeks.
“Thanksgiving is typically the most heavily traveled that we have out there,” says Utah Department of Transportation Spokesman John Gleason.
UDOT suggests giving you and your loved ones an extra 20 minutes minimum to get to wherever you’re going, starting Wednesday afternoon.
Traffic on all our major freeways is expected to be heaviest southbound from 2 p.m. and northbound from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Don’t forget about Black Friday.
Gleason says, “The surface streets in and around the malls and shopping centers, they get pretty congested.”
Gleason adds Sunday travel coming back into town will certainly be busy, but those coming home Monday might make it even worse.
“They’re adding to that congestion that’s already there because of your evening commute,” says Gleason.
Gleason wants everyone to get to and from their destinations safely and suggests being the kind of driver you want others to be.