Gas Prices Affect Easter Travel
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The Easter holiday weekend and what it meant for traveler’s. As gas prices soared to more than $4 a gallon, surprisingly, Easter weekend travelers continued to make the costly trip to visit family. This was the first major holiday of the spring and summer season, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol said the volume of traffic looked normal right now for Easter weekend. Annette Hickerson and her granddaughter, Nevaeh, hadn’t seen their family in more than 4 months and weren’t going to let the price of gas get in their way. “Well not really, we kind of planned for this weekend. Yea sure, they are going up, and you don’t like to pay anymore than you have to, but it’s worth seeing the family to go up there,” said Annette Hickerson. Many traveler’s said although it cost more to fill up their tank, spending time with loved ones was more important. “I just want to go spend time with family. It doesn’t matter what the cost is, I will still do what I have to do,” said Conszuela Brown. Easter weekend, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol isn’t the busiest travel weekend of the year, but does involve a large number of people going to church, or driving to spend time with family. “There’s a lot of traveler’s out, a lot of traveler’s. As a matter of fact, I was in a traffic jam up to this point,” added Brown. But the interstate wasn’t the only concern for troopers. “The interstates always a concern of course, but this weekend we’re really worried about the secondary roads and the county roads. People trying to get to church and to schools. I went by the mall earlier and it was pretty packed,” said Lt. Brad Wilbanks. To clear the roads and prevent anymore congestion, TDOT suspended all interstate construction work until Monday morning. “Tennessee Department of Transportation learned a long time ago, several years back, holiday traffic is enough danger without the construction going on,” added Lt. Wilbanks. And with most holiday celebrations, Lt. Wilbanks said there are always a few individuals who get out of hand. “Of course, Easter’s considered a religious holiday, but there’s a certain element of people that if they get an extra day off work, they’re going to use that to drink and do other things,” added Lt. Wilbanks. Lt. Wilbanks states that Easter Sunday would be the peak day for cars on the road, and to remember that when managing your time for travel. As always, THP said to buckle up, especially when traveling for a long period of time during the busy holiday weekend.
