Mass. — We are just days away from Memorial Day weekend—and the unofficial start to summer. That also means more traffic.

We say this every year—there is going to be a record amount of travel. One of the reasons? Gas prices are about the same as last year.

AAA is predicting more people will be driving or flying this year than in 2019, exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

AAA predicts nearly 44 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home over the Memorial Day travel period—which starts Thursday and goes through Monday. That’s a number that hasn’t been reached in almost 20 years.

AAA also expects 38 million people will drive for the long weekend—which is the highest since 2000 when it began tracking this type of data. For the airports, there will be a 5% increase in travelers, the most crowded Memorial Day weekend at airports since 2005.

Gas prices are helping fuel the travel rush, as they have been coming down lately. Here locally, the current average is $3.55 for a gallon of regular unleaded. That’s two cents cheaper than a week ago and also five cents less than the national average. At this time last year, we were paying $3.44 a gallon, not far off from where we are now.

In fact, gas prices have been coming down for the last four weeks. GasBuddy is reporting that the national average is expected to stay in the mid-3 range for most of the summer.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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