Mother's Day Weekend: Heaviest Traffic Day of the Year, Again?

Mother's Day Weekend (and warm-ish weather) is upon us — and so will be throngs of people trying to flee town, especially on the Mass Pike or heading to the Cape.

Turnpike toll transactions statistics from 2012 ranked the Friday before Mother’s Day as the heaviest traffic day on the Pike with more than 363,000 transactions logged between Interstate 95/Route 128 and the New York border.

Friday nights in warm weather months accounted for the rest of the top 20 heaviest travel days on the Pike last year:

Ranking Day Date 2012 Total Mass Pike Toll Transactions 1 Friday 11-May 363,004 2 Friday 5-Oct 362,377 3 Friday 24-Aug 357,193 4 Friday 20-Jul 356,744 5 Friday 3-Aug 355,969

This weekend, heaviest traffic is expected Friday and Sunday afternoons and early evenings.  So MassDOT (Massachusetts Department of Transportation) officials are encouraging drivers to make travel plans accordingly and, if possible, avoid peak traffic between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.  today and Sunday.

On those days, I-90 (Mass Pike) traffic is expected to be especially heavy at the I-84 interchange at Exit 9 in Sturbridge and at Exit 11A, I-495, which handles cars headed south to Cape Cod and north to New Hampshire and Maine.

Where else congestion expected:

• Traffic heading on and off Cape Cod throughout the weekend
• At the I-95 and I-495 Turnpike interchanges along with I-495 and I-93 northbound leading into New Hampshire

Traffic and Travel Resources Available from MassDOT

MassDOT's Traffic and Travel Resources page includes links to all MassDOT travel resources. Use MassDOT traffic resources available to assist motorists.  Before you travel, check the interactive live Traffic Cameras Web page to view current traffic. 

Sign up at the 511 Traveler Information Service to receive personalized travel information alerts via email, text or telephone. MassDOT as always reminds drivers to avoid using cell phones while driving.  Call into the 511 service before departing. You can also download the I-93 Real Time Traffic Management app, Ride Wise for various Smartphones including the iPhone.