COLUMBUS – Low gas prices and a Buckeye season opener on the road add up to busy roadways and a long holiday weekend for more than a million Ohioans who are expected to travel for Labor Day.
The auto club AAA predicts 1.5 million Ohioans will travel during the holiday period from Sept. 3-7, an increase of 1.8 percent over last year, and the average trip will be will be about 20 percent longer — 5.3 days – partly due to the number of Buckeye fans attending Ohio State’s 2015 football season-opening game against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.
The AAA predicts 35.3 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home over the holiday, an increase of 1 percent, and the highest number of travelers since 2008.
Although Ohio drivers suffered through a gas price spike in the middle of August, the statewide average between Aug. 1 and Aug. 21 remained 87 cents a gallon below last year’s price and the statewide average price of $2.48 Friday morning was 89 cents below the price on the same date in 2014.