ROANOKE, Va. – Millions of Americans hit the roads Monday. Many of them were returning from Memorial Day holiday weekend trips.
Despite travel going up 6 percent this weekend, according to TripAdvisor, drivers who spent the morning on Interstate 81 said it wasn’t too congested.
“Actually, really tranquil. There’s not a ton of traffic out there,” Celana Holliman said.
Drivers said roads were surprisingly calm, and people driving through Pennsylvania, our region of Virginia and the Bristol area said there weren’t any backups.
“Not as bad as I thought it’d be, a lot of trucks and not as much traffic as I expected, so it’s been pretty calm,” John Precup said.
As always, state police increased patrols. Drivers said they saw many officers on the roads.
“Oh yeah, I saw at least 20 people pulled over, at least 10 just sitting, watching,” Susan Wilson said.
According to a survey from TripAdvisor, 38% of travelers returned from their Memorial Day destinations Monday. More than one-quarter (26%) of travelers decided to extend their Memorial Day vacation to return Wednesday or later.