Travel expected to be heavy during Turkey Day

Foul weather is in the forecast, but it likely won’t keep many Iowans from heading off to see loved ones for a Thanksgiving meal next week. Triple-A-Iowa spokeswoman Dawn Duffy says the roads and the airports will be busy. The motor club projects 36-million Americans will take a trip of 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving weekend holiday. This is two-point-four percent higher than the 35-point-two million who traveled last year. While air travelers have been slowed in recent years by new security stops, Duffy says most of us have gotten used to that delay since nine-eleven.Duffy says about 31-million travelers will be going by motor vehicle, a two-and-a-half percent increase from a year ago. Another four-point-six million plan to go by airplane, up almost one percent from last Thanksgiving. A projected 300-thousand vacationers will go by train, bus or other mode of transportation. For those hitting the road, Duffy says a stop to fill the gasoline tank won’t blow your turkey budget. Auto travelers will find gas prices down about 24 cents from the all-time high set before this year’s Labor Day holiday. The national average of a dollar-50 for a gallon of self-serve unleaded is about four cents per gallon higher than last Thanksgiving.