The drive on central Pennsylvania’s roads was a bit sluggish Friday afternoon as thousands of drivers made their way out of town.
One thing they may see less of is road work, as PennDOT tries to give drivers a temporary reprieve from construction season.
“We try not to have any type of road work going on over the weekend and leading into the weekend that would interfere with people's travel plans,” spokesperson Greg Penny said.
PennDOT is also giving drivers a new tool to use on the state's 511 website, showing what traffic was like on this getaway Friday and Memorial Day for the last two years so that drivers can plan when to hit the road throughout the state.
“I think for people that are traveling from Maryland, Virginia coming to Pennsylvania, this gives them an idea what to avoid or what times to avoid,” Penny said.
While Memorial Day here tends to be a driving holiday, at Harrisburg International Airport, they're seeing a steady increase in passengers this weekend, even in the face of nationwide complaints about TSA security lines.
“The TSA staff here has done a good job of figuring out with all the constraints on them how to manage staff pretty appropriately and they've taken extra steps to try and get the PreCheck line open as much as possible,” airport spokesperson Scott Miller said.
And the freedom to travel is one the things on the minds of those ready to take flight.
“That's what Memorial Day weekend is supposed to be about: remembering those who came before us and what they've done to give us the freedoms we have today,” Miller said. “That's what we need to remember when we travel and you can do your part in that by being prepared before coming to the airport.”