AAA In Colorado: Busiest Part Of Thanksgiving Travel Period Is Here

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. (CBS4) - This Wednesday is expected to be the busiest holiday travel day of the year, and it could be more complicated thanks to a dumping of snow from this week's storm.

AAA in Colorado forecasts 960,000 people traveling for Thanksgiving, that's about a 2.9% increase over last year. Across the country, a total of 55 million people are expected to make the trip to grandma's house. That means nothing is really worse than having to get around Wednesday afternoon. Historical data shows travel times will peak midday, with drives taking up to 4 times longer in some areas.

In Colorado, AAA said the following hotspots will be the worst for traffic throughout the Thanksgiving travel period – defined as Wednesday, November 27 to Sunday, December 1.

• Southbound I-25 at Greenland Road (Exit 167)
• Northbound I-25 at 84th Avenue (Exit 219)
• Southbound I-25 at US-285 (Exit 201)
• Southbound CO-2 at I-25
• Southbound I-25 at Spruce Mountain Road (Exit 173)
• Northbound CO-121 at W. 64th Avenue
• Eastbound I-70 at Havana Street (Exit 280)
• Westbound CO-470 at Platte Canyon Road
• Southbound I-225 at I-25 (Exit 1)
• Northbound I-25 at Plum Creek Parkway (Exit 181)

"96 percent of crashes are completely preventable and they tend to be from people making bad decisions like slamming on the brakes on ice, accelerating too quickly, turning too quickly," said Skyler McKinley, Director of Public Relations and Government Affairs at AAA Colorado. "On days like today when we have a lot of travel and we have a lot of ice and snow, bring your speed down and give yourself a lot of reaction time."

AAA also warns drivers to expect increased travel times on Sunday, as most travelers will be making their way home, but drivers will also want to be careful Friday as another snowstorm is expected to return.