RICHMOND, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – With 1.23-million Virginians traveling this Memorial Day holiday weekend, Triple-A predicts 1-milllon of those will travel by car on what is the unofficial start to the summer driving season. If you want to avoid the most traffic, Triple-A MidAtlantic’s Morgan Dean recommends traveling before 11AM Friday, May 23 with the biggest backup possibilities from noon-to-8PM. Coming back Monday, May 26, he recommends getting on the road before 2pm with the biggest backups between 4-and-7PM.

While gas prices are up 4-cents from last week, Dean says we’re still paying a lot less than this time last year. The national regular unleaded price is 3.17-a-gallon, and Virginia’s average is 2.90. Both of those averages are down 42-cens from the Memorial Day holiday 2024.