Nearly 1 million Wisconsin residents are expected to travel over July Fourth weekend, the most since 2001; gas costs around $5 a gallon
Nearly 1 million people in Wisconsin are expected to hit the state's roads and highways this holiday weekend, despite gas prices still hovering near their highest price ever, travel forecasters say.
Travel organization AAA said it expects at least 960,000 Wisconsinites will travel by passenger vehicle between Thursday and July 4.
That's the most in 20 years, AAA said.
The Fourth of July falls on a Monday this year, adding an additional three-day holiday weekend to the calendar.
"While all modes of transportation are forecast to be stronger than last year, the biggest surprise is auto travel," AAA said in a statement. "Despite record high gas prices, AAA forecasts 960,000 Wisconsinites will take a holiday road trip — the most on record, dating back to 2001."
When you include all modes of travel, including airplanes, trains and buses, more than 1 million Wisconsin residents are forecast to travel for the July Fourth holiday weekend.
“The volume of travelers expected over Independence Day is a definite sign that summer travel is kicking into high gear,” said Debbie Haas, vice president of travel for AAA, in the statement.
“Earlier this year, we started seeing the demand for travel increase and it’s not tapering off," Haas added. "People are ready for a break, and despite things costing more, they are finding ways to still take that much needed vacation.”
Air travel is expected to be 3% stronger than last year, but recent issues with cancellations and delays in the airline industry have more people choosing to travel by car, Haas said.
Carpooling becomes strategy to fight high gas prices
Across the nation, AAA is forecasting 47.9 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home during the holiday weekend.
That's an increase of 3.7% over 2021, and would bring travel volume just below its pre-pandemic level in 2019.
The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline on Tuesday was $4.88, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge report. A year ago, the national average was $3.10 a gallon.
Meanwhile, a recent survey of 1,030 people by the travel blog, The Vacationer, found 55% plan to travel over the holiday weekend, an 8% increase from last year's survey.
More than 50% said gas prices will affect their Fourth of July travel plans this year and will affect the way they spend their money on their vacations.
In another survey, car-shopping marketplace Cars.com says more people will be carpooling or bringing guests along for the ride to chip in for gas.
The Cars.com survey says that "while 88% of American travelers plan to drive to their holiday destinations over Independence Day weekend, more than three-fourths say record-high gas prices have impacted plans, with many opting to stay closer to home or bring friends along to help chip in at the pump," according to the survey.
"More than half of those surveyed say they’ll be driving a shorter distance due to fuel costs, and while 62% of 2021 respondents said their goal was to get 'as far from the house as possible' last Fourth of July, this year, 68% of road trippers will stay within 50 miles of home," according to Cars.com.
And, continuing a trend that was seen during Memorial Day weekend, "45% of Fourth of July travelers will bring company along to offset the cost of gas, and the number surpasses 50% for those between 18-34 years old and those with a household income below $50,000," according to Cars.com.
“Pent-up demand for travel is pushing vacationers to get creative with their road-trip strategies to curb costs rather than forgo their adventures completely,” said Jenni Newman, Cars.com editor-in-chief, in a statement.
Gas prices still near $5 in Wisconsin, Milwaukee
The average price for a gallon of regular gas in Wisconsin stood at $4.70 on Tuesday. That's down 22 cents a gallon from the all-time high reached June 12 but is still $1.75 a gallon higher than it was this time last year when the price was $2.95 a gallon.
Meanwhile, the average price for a gallon of regular in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area was $4.84 on Tuesday. That's down from a record high on June 8 of $5.18 but still significantly higher than last year when it was $2.98 a gallon.
Here's the average price for a gallon of regular gas in areas of Wisconsin on Tuesday according to AAA:
Milwaukee/Waukesha: $4.84
Kenosha: $4.76
Pierce/St. Croix counties (Twin Cities metro): $4.74
Sheboygan: $4.71
Oshkosh: $4.65
Wausau: $4.65
Janesville-Beloit: $4.62
Green Bay: $4.60
Madison: $4.60
Eau Claire: $4.58
Fond du Lac: $4.57
Appleton: $4.57
La Crosse: $4.52
Chicago metro: $5.77
Illinois drivers save if they fuel up in Wisconsin
If you live in Illinois and are visiting Wisconsin for the holiday weekend, you will definitely want to fill up in the Badger State. Gas prices across the northern Illinois counties bordering Wisconsin were all above $5 a gallon on Tuesday.
The average price in Illinois for a gallon of regular was $5.42. The Chicago metro average was $5.77. In the city of Chicago, the average per-gallon price was $5.98, according to AAA.
All travel costs more this year
Independence Day gas prices are forecast to be the most expensive ever for the July Fourth holiday. Gas prices are 64% more expensive than they were a year ago, according to AAA.
The auto club group also found the average lowest airfare is 14% more than last year, coming in at $201 per ticket. Midrange hotel rates are about 23% more than last year, with the average lowest nightly rates coming in at $244/night.
Daily car rental rates have decreased 34% compared with last year, with the average lowest rate coming in at $110/day. But rates are still $40 more/day on average than in 2019, according to AAA.
Drivers should expect delays
With so many people on the road, heavy traffic is expected across the country.
Drivers should expect the longest travel delays heading into the holiday weekend, particularly during the afternoons on Thursday and Friday as commuters leave work early and mix with holiday travelers.
Drivers in major U.S. metro areas could experience double the travel times compared with a normal trip, said Bob Pishue, a transportation analyst with INRIX, a private company headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, that provides location-based data and analytics to automakers.
“Knowing when and where congestion will build can help drivers avoid the stress of sitting in traffic," Pishue said. "Our advice is to avoid traveling on Thursday and Friday afternoon.”
Corrinne Hess can be reached at chess@gannett.com. Follow her @corrihess
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Nearly 1 million people will hit Wisconsin's highways for July 4th
