Big Back-Ups Expected For Holiday Travel

BALTIMORE (WJZ)--Whether you are going by train, plane or car a lot of you will be traveling over the next couple of days. If you are planning to drive, there are obstacles you will face.

Kelly McPherson explains big back-ups are expected.

Some 1.8 million Marylanders will get away for the end-of-year holiday, traveling at least 50 miles from home.

AAA expects a 4 percent increase over last year.

Only about 50,000 will fly. Most will drive—like Maryland dad George Sandruck who will visit his daughter in Minnesota.

"Flying is a hassle, and I don't have the scratch for it," Sandruck said. "It's cheaper to drive.  And if I have to rent a car there, it costs just as much as the flight.

"I drove alone with the baby and the dog because of my dog," said Erica Stevens, who traveled from Nashville. "I could've flown, but I didn't want to spend Christmas without my dog."

If you're heading north, expect to see the same congestion from Thanksgiving weekend once again near the Delaware tolls, as construction continues.

Drivers are paying too— with gas prices straddling $3 per gallon.

"Despite the 2010 highs for gasoline that we're seeing now heading into the holiday, we do not anticipate people canceling plans, but rather reallocating their travel budget by staying with family, friends," said Christine Delise, spokesperson for Mid-Atlantic AAA.

That's Samuel Brickhouse's plan.

"We might take a couple of days and go down to Port Smith, Va., Chesapeake, Va., over to the Eastern Shore," Brickhouse said.

The majority of Marylanders, though, are staying close to home.

"We actually already did our holiday traveling," said Anika Cunningham of Hamilton. "We went to Hawaii. We got out early for the little munchkin's birthday."

Josh Dill of Bel Air will not be traveling  "because my whole family-- they either live in Towson or Harford County."

"Most of my family is here, number one, so that's why I'm going to be here," said Lois Bailey of Baltimore. "And they're not traveling either, so we're just going to get together for the holidays."

Experts say that the reason why people are traveling more this year over last year is because the economy is improving. But the numbers nationwide are not back to the level of pre-recession travel.