AAA projects a record-breaking 48.9 million Americans will be traveling for the Fourth of July holiday. That’s the most people traveling since AAA started tracking holiday travel in 2000.

In Oregon, 583,000 people are expected to travel for the Fourth of July.

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Marie Dodds, director of government and public affairs for AAA Oregon, said a strong economy is fueling increased travel.

“Consumer optimism is healthy. Folks are feeling good about their personal economic situations and they’re willing to spend their hard-earned money on things like travel,” she said. “We’ve certainly seen that for all of the travel periods this year.”

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The Fourth of July is typically the busiest summer holiday for travel, Dodds said. Memorial Day and Labor Day come in second and third, respectively.

The travel period for the holiday is defined as Wednesday, July 3, to Sunday, July 7.

“The busiest travel day will be the day before the Fourth of July – so July 3,” Dodds said. “That afternoon is going to be really busy on the roadways.”

The peak travel time, she said, will be roughly 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m

“Travel times could be up to four times as long as the normal trip during that crunch,” Dodds said. “If you can avoid that time on the roadways, that’s great, but the thing to keep in mind for the Fourth of July is that we’re looking at record travel, so basically anytime you leave, you can expect more company than usual.”

The top Independence Day domestic travel destinations for AAA Oregon members are Seattle, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.