AAA Predicts Thanksgiving Traffic Will Be Worst Since 2005, Reveals Routes To Avoid

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — An estimated 4.3 million Southern Californians will be traveling over Thanksgiving, and if the American Automobile Association is right, they'll be facing the worst Thanksgiving holiday traffic since 2005.

"The big reason why we're anticipating so many people traveling is strong economic fundamentals. Consumer spending remains high due to an increase in wages, an increase in household wealth, and an increase in disposable income," said AAA spokesman Doug Shupe.

Gas prices have also gone down. The average price is now $3.90 a gallon across Los Angeles and Long Beach, ten cents less than last week.

Las Vegas is the top destination for Southland travelers, followed by San Diego, Mexico, the Grand Canyon, and Lake Tahoe.

AAA has also helped calculate the routes to be avoided and when they'll be most congested.

"It's going to be the 10 East on Wednesday afternoon, about 6 p.m. The 405 South about 5:30 on Wednesday. The 405 North about 5:45 p.m, will really start bunching up.... The 101 West about 8:30 in the evening Wednesday and the 5 South it looks like Friday at about 6:30. It will be the really congested time on that freeway," said Shupe.