Load up on the podcasts and audiobooks. Also, take a deep breath. It's time for one of the worst travel weeks of the year.

An estimated 647,000 Oregonians, essentially the population of Portland, will be traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday. The vast majority of those folks, nearly 86 percent, will reach their destination by automobile.

The endless sea of brake lights on Interstate 5, Interstate 84 and other major roadways crisscrossing the state will represent the busiest Thanksgiving travel week since 2005. Wednesday will be the worst day on the road, according to AAA of Oregon/Idaho. Peak congestion generally occurs from 3 to 7 p.m.

Tuesday's traffic won't be much better, with the worst of it expected from about 3:15 to 6 p.m. as holiday road warriors converge with daily commuters.

"You can avoid the biggest traffic bottlenecks if you can travel outside of these times," Marie Dodds, public affairs director for AAA of Oregon and Idaho, said in a statement "Still, plan on lots of company whenever you go."

But in reality, there's not much that can be done to avoid traffic if people want to get to their destination before the Thursday holiday. Getting home is not much better. According to a Google Maps analysis, the Friday afternoon after the holiday will be worse for return travel than Sunday.

Regardless, AAA is projecting travel times during those peak times to be nearly 300 percent the "optimal time."

About 25 percent of travelers are opting to extend their holiday to avoid the Sunday bottlenecks, according to AAA.

Nationally, a projected 50.9 million Americans will travel for the holiday, 1.6 million more than in 2016.

Dodds said a strong economy translates to more people being willing to travel.

The biggest growth appears to be in air travel this year, with nearly 8 percent of travelers buying plane tickets this year. Steep discounts in airfare, roughly 23 percent according to AAA, are adding to the increase in travelers.

"Rising incomes build more confident consumers who are more likely to spend money on air travel, which tends to be a more expensive mode of travel," Dodds said.

The West Coast tends to have a higher rate of air travel than the nation as a whole, and that is no different this year. Roughly 10 percent of the 8.5 million people in Oregon, Washington, California, Alaska and Hawaii expected to travel, will get there on a plane.

Portland International Airport expects 126,000 people to move through its terminals on Wednesday and Sunday, a 22 percent increase over typical travel days.

The Port of Portland suggests travelers arrive at least two hours early for their domestic flights, and longer if they have medical conditions or are traveling with children.

Drivers can expect to see gas prices 40 cents higher than figures from a year ago. The $2.83 per gallon average would be the highest for the holiday since 2014.



-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen