Avoid These Cape Cod Traffic Times This Holiday Weekend

Driving to the Cape can be contradictory.  Try heading there between May and September and you're smacked square in the face with with miles of bumper to bumper traffic.  Hit the Cape during the off-season and you'll be able to sit back, relax, and set your cruise control to 75.

As any Cape Codder knows, the traffic doesn't end when you get off the highway.  The main streets are usually just as congested as the highway that got you there.  It's the reason that year-round residents tend to be less than enthusiastic about tourists in the summer.  Sure, the tourists bring the much needed money to the Cape, but it comes with a cost.

Cape Codders learn to know when the driving hot zones and times are that should be avoided at all costs.

Now, thanks to AAA, Cape outsiders can get the same inside edge Cape Codders have on when to brave the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges.  They say that more than 87% of the travel this weekend will be done in an automobile.

Drivers leaving Thursday or Friday should expect the heaviest traffic during the afternoon, when travelers mix with commuters, according to data from transportation analytics company INRIX. Travelers going back home on Sunday or Monday should avoid the afternoon hours when return trips will likely peak.