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According to The Vacationer’s latest data, Thanksgiving is the busiest travel holiday, with 81% more Americans hitting the road compared to holidays like Christmas or Hanukkah. With that in mind, we set out to find which highways have become the nation’s biggest traffic headaches this time of year.
Using data from the FHWA and NHTSA, we created a weighted index to map out the busiest Thanksgiving highways nationwide. By factoring in key stats like AADT (annual average daily traffic), average speeds, fatal crash rates, and social sentiment, we identified the highways most likely to slow down your holiday travels.
Roads were ranked on a scale of 100, the higher the ranking, the worse the road.
It turns out if you’re planning to take any of the major highways in the Golden State this Thanksgiving, you should prepare yourself for a turbulent journey, as Californian highways dominated 11 out of 20 spots on our index list.
Claiming the title of worst Thanksgiving highway is the infamous I-5 in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana area, CA. With a staggering AADT of 504,000—63% higher than the “best” Thanksgiving highway, I-110 in the same area. An average speed of just 38.1 miles per hour, paired with a negative social sentiment of 70.3%, is enough to put anyone in a traffic-induced mood. Planning to tackle these busy highways this Thanksgiving? Consider setting off a few hours (or maybe even days) early to avoid missing out on that golden, oven-fresh turkey.
The traffic nightmares don’t end there. Coming in a close second is another California “highway from hell”—the I-5 in San Diego. This stretch sees over 400,000 vehicles daily and has recorded 80 serious crashes in recent years.
In third place, we welcome a new contender: Georgia’s I-75 in Atlanta, which scored a 45.7 out of 100. This highway boasts the second highest average daily traffic at 419,516 vehicles. Interestingly, social media complaints have been relatively low, with a negative sentiment of just 27.8%. Still, it’s wise to pack your bags early to dodge the holiday rush—because nothing ruins a turkey dinner quite like a side of traffic jam.
Claiming the title of the best Thanksgiving road is the I-110 in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana area. This interstate enjoys an average daily traffic of 315,000, providing a bit more breathing room for those racing across the state to celebrate Turkey Day. With a low (compared to others) 23 fatal crashes reported in the latest data and a low negative sentiment of 25%, it’s a solid choice for holiday travelers.
Following closely in second place is another California favorite, the I-210, also in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana region. It boasts an AADT of 358,000, but with even lower crash statistics at just 13, it’s a safer option for holiday travel. So, grab your stuffing and hit the road.
In third place for the best Thanksgiving travel routes is I-90, running through Chicago, IL-IN. If pumpkin pie is at the top of your priority list, this interstate is the way to go, you don’t want to arrive hungry and disappointed this holiday season!
Thanksgiving is a celebration you won’t want to miss—a time to gather with loved ones, kick back to enjoy an NFL game, and create cherished memories together. However, the chaos of America’s traffic shouldn’t put a damper on your holiday plans. So, make sure to plan ahead, especially for those travelling in California.
We utilized official highway statistics from the Federal Highway Administration (otherwise known as the FHWA) to gather the annual average daily traffic (AADT), which formed our initial list of highways for analysis. Additionally, we gathered the latest crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (otherwise known as NHTSA), as well as average speed information for each highway and social media sentiment data sourced from social media monitoring tool, Meltwater.
By combining these metrics and applying specific weightings, we created an index that ranks each highway from best to worst, with scores out of 100 (where a higher score indicates a more problematic road).
Weighting as follows:
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