Arkansas roads and campsites will be full this Fourth of July weekend, and people traveling and celebrating outdoors can expect moderate weather and low gas prices.
The AAA survey for this year indicates that a record 44.2 million people will be traveling between Friday and Tuesday, with 37.5 million of them traveling by vehicle.
That is a 2.9 percent increase from 2016, which Michael Right, a regional vice president of public affairs for AAA, attributed in part to an improved economy.
In the AAA office on North Rodney Parham Road in Little Rock, customer service representatives said they had people arriving all week to request maps for holiday trips, with Colorado being the map most requested.
The number of travelers and vehicle miles dipped during the recession in 2007, Right said.
Since then, gas prices have dropped nationwide. The national average is $2.25 per gallon, compared with $2.31 per gallon in 2016. In Arkansas, the average gas price is lower at $2.02 a gallon, compared with 2016's $2.08 a gallon.
Right said low gas prices also play a part in more travelers being on the road, although there's usually a slight bump in prices around the Fourth of July.
Still, there likely won't be as many people on the road as over Thanksgiving weekend, which Right said is the highest travel period of the year.
Travelers can check idrivearkansas.com, a website that the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department maintains, indicating road closures and alternate travel routes in the state. According to a news release, the department has several scheduled closures of primary routes over the holiday period, including stretches of Interstate 30, Interstate 440 and Interstate 430.
The roads will be busy, but airport spokesman Shane Carter said he expects normal holiday travel at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field in Little Rock.
"The Fourth of July is not typically a busy holiday," he said of air travel.
One thing Carter said air travelers should look out for is the airport's closed west short-term parking lot and be prepared to follow signs to parking areas in front of the terminal and in the parking deck. He said the $25 million concourse renovation that the airport is completing will have little to no impact on travel July 4.
"It'll be a typical day," he said.
In most parts of the state, campers and people enjoying outdoor activities can expect moderate weather.
Brian Smith, a senior forecaster at the National Weather Service in North Little Rock, said temperatures statewide will be lower than usual. That means lows in the 70s and highs in the 80s, although the southern and western parts of the state will reach the 90s.
Smith said a cold front Friday will produce a chance of rain Friday and Saturday night, but that should pass by Sunday.
Most campsites in state parks and at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sites are booked, but people still looking for a getaway can check for availability online at Arkansasstateparks.com and Recreation.gov.
Arkansas State Parks spokesman Meg Matthews said that although parks will be busy, she encourages people to get out for the day and enjoy the 54,353 acres of parks around the state.
"We've got a lot of room, so I do recommend getting out there," she said.
Metro on 06/29/2017