BOSTON — The Boston to Providence drive on I-95 South is forecast to be 105% longer on the Friday before Labor Day, making it the second worst holiday traffic hotspot on a 16-route ranking.
According to AAA’s Aug. 24 Labor Day forecast, this spike in traffic is predicted to result in an estimated journey of one hour and 32 minutes at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 4.
Seattle to Ellensburg is the only route seen with a bigger increase at 121%.
Peak traffic will occur on Friday when people departing for the holiday weekend begin to overlap with regular commuters. Given normal conditions, this will effectively double people’s travel time.
Story continues below Trending Shorts
Boston to Providence is the only New England route to make AAA’s peak congestion by metro list, sitting right above Baltimore to Washington D.C. at 90%.
Based on the traffic forecast, drivers looking to avoid delays on this route should leave before 12 p.m. on Friday. If they leave on Thursday, travel should start before 1 p.m.
For the return commute, some holiday-related disruptions are expected on Sunday. Depending on peoples’ schedules, they are advised to leave before 10 a.m. on Saturday or before 12 p.m. on Monday.
The travel time data in AAA’s forecast was sourced from INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights.
Commute predictions are based on normal driving conditions. Drivers should still check weather and highway conditions before departing.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
