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Record high number of Texans traveling over Memorial Day weekend

It’s the unofficial start of summer and East Texans are getting ready to enjoy Memorial Day weekend.

TEXAS, USA — Traffic is the number one thing you want to take into account when making your travel plans during Memorial Day weekend because according to AAA this is the second highest travel volume in Texas.

"The total travel volume is even slightly higher than what we saw in 2019, pre pandemic.," said AAA spokesperson Daniel Armbruster.

AAA expects to see 3.5 million Texans traveling 50 miles or more for the holiday this year. For flights and hotels, top destinations are seeing prices up 40% higher than a year ago. However, gas prices are cheaper this year.

That means more people will be traveling by car. As a result, Tyler Police Department will have more officers on the streets.

"We have our priority response team that's going to be working in the lake area. And that's just to keep people safe. And then we have extra officers inside the city,"  said Tyler Police spokesperson Andy Erbaugh.

He noted the main priority is targeting impaired drivers. He also said that Old Jacksonville Highway and Broadway Avenue will be the busiest areas.

And if you are traveling by road, make sure your car is properly maintained.

"Just to mitigate the risk of a roadside rescue or mitigate the risk of a breakdown," Armbruster said.

Tyler PD wants to remind everyone to act responsibly this holiday weekend.

"Just know that we're there for you. If you have a problem, find our officers to help you in any way they can," Erbaugh said.

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