Absolute Worst Times To Be On Utah Roads Thanksgiving Weekend

Officials from the Utah Department of Transportation are urging Utah residents to use caution on what is the busiest traffic weekend of the year in the Beehive State.

UDOT warns that traffic on the Interstate and state roads will be worst Wednesday and Sunday, but there will be plenty of traffic throughout the four-day weekend.

Traffic engineers with UDOT are expecting many delays over the holiday weekend, including these hotspots:

Northbound I-15 in Davis County: Delays could be as much as 10 minutes between 3 and 7 p.m.
Southbound I-15 in Salt Lake County: Motorists could see delays as much as 15 minutes between 3 and 7 p.m.
Near Nephi on southbound I-15: Delays could be up to 10 minutes between 5 and 8 p.m.

Additionally, UDOT says delays of 20 minutes are possible near Cedar City on Sunday between 12 and 7 p.m.

UDOT authorities also warn of heavy traffic and delays near large shopping centers ion Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) as shoppers hit holiday sales at retail outlets.

Nationally, the American Automobile Association (AAA) just published its annual Thanksgiving forecast, which predicts that a record 71.7 million people will travel by car over the holiday. That's 1.3 million more than last year and higher than pre-pandemic records, possibly boosted by the lowest national average gas price since 2021.

The best and worst times to drive over Thanksgiving 2024

For 2024, AAA has expanded its traffic forecast to include the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving Day and the Monday after. Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons are predicted to be the worst times to travel by car -- but unlike in previous years, drivers can expect minimal impact on Thursday, making the holiday itself the best time to be on the road.