‘It’s going to be busy’: Central Virginia’s July 4 travel forecast

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — This year, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is anticipating to screen over 32 million people across the country this holiday weekend, and locally, officials say we are right on track to make that number possible.

After 15 consecutive months of record-breaking air travel numbers, Richmond International Airport in Henrico County is gearing up for the next few days.

“It’s like a normal day plus 20%,” said RIC Director of Marketing Troy Bell. “This July so far is a little ahead of last year, it was a record but we’re even beyond that so far this year.”

Bell said we can expect to see a surge at the airport on the days leading up to the holiday, as well as the days following.

“Thursday will probably be the quietest day we have this week,” said Bell. “It’s July 4 and people have made it to their destination, so it’s really more before and after the holidays.”

Virginia Department of Transportation Richmond District Engineer Dale Totten said road predictions for this week are similar, and the department is taking measures to avoid traffic during the rest of the week.

“This week in particular, we’re getting ready to suspend short-term lane closures,” Totten said. “Really as an effort to assist those motorists that are traveling to get down the road with less obstructions in the roadway.”

Despite this, there are some areas that are still likely to see backups this week.

“You’ll certainly see slowdowns on I-64,” he said. “Around 295 you should expect to see congestion as well… in those normal places you would see congestion during the weekend.”

Gas prices are slightly lower this July 4 than they were this time last year, but officials say they have raised a bit since last week.

“[Gas prices] could be just a few fractions of a penny lower this year than what we saw last July,” said Gas Buddy spokesperson Patrick De Haan. “But it’s possible, with [the price of] oil continuing to rise, that it’s going to be a washout and that gas prices this July for could end up being virtually identical to what they were last year.”

Whether you’re traveling by car or by plane this week, many of the same rules apply. Both Bell and Totten said preparation is important. If you’re flying, give yourself an adequate amount of time to get to the airport before departure. If you are driving, think about traffic and take extra time to get to your destination.