NewsLocal News

Actions

If you’re traveling this Labor Day Weekend, plan for delays and try to be courteous

Posted at 6:31 PM, Aug 31, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-31 20:31:15-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- If you’re planning on hitting the road for the Labor Day weekend, brace yourself for some delays.

Take your cue from Michael Goff.

“We actually went a week early," Goff said. "Went up to Yellowstone."

Or Byron Konold, visiting from California to drop off his kid at BYU.

“We left on Wednesday afternoon out of San Diego and drove up and didn’t have that much traffic," Konold said. "We stopped in St. George then continued the rest of the way on Thursday morning to Provo."

These guys know strategy is the name of the game when it comes to avoiding holiday traffic. That’s what Utah Department of Transportation spokesman, John Gleason, also recommends.

“Nobody wants to be stuck in traffic especially if you’re trying to head out of town for the weekend,” Gleason said.

Gleason says you could see major delays on Utah roads headed southbound Friday evening.

“Worst case scenario we could see up to an hour delay on I-15," Gleason said. "A lot of people are heading southbound tonight."

It could be even worse on Monday for drivers headed north.

“We could see the bulk of the delays on Monday afternoon on I-15 heading northbound into the Salt Lake Valley,” Gleason said.

To try and alleviate some of the issues UDOT is suspending all of its construction projects through the weekend, although they still say you should be careful when driving through work zones.

“We don’t want to cause any extra congestion. There’s going to be enough of it out there on our roads, so we want to take from our major projects,” Gleason said.

However, your best bet, is to follow the lead of these strategic travelers and avoid traveling at those peak times.

“We’re going to depart probably early Sunday morning to beat traffic,” Konold said.

However, if you do get stuck in the mess, try to be courteous.

“Just remember you’re not the only one. All of us are out there," Gleason said. "There’s a lot of people that are stuck in traffic and try to be the driver you want others to be."