PA Turnpike officials expecting busy Easter weekend

Middletown, PA — (WJET/WFXP)– Easter weekend is nearly here and Pennsylvania Turnpike officials are ready for more than 2 million people to hit the road.

Despite Easter falling later than usual this year, PA Turnpike officials are projecting roughly 2.18 million cars to use the Turnpike this weekend, a 1.5% increase from last year.

In light of the expected increase in traffic, Turnpike officials said construction work will be suspended starting at 5 a.m. Thursday morning and will start again at 11 p.m. on Monday, April 21 in order to keep as many lanes open as possible.

Officials are projecting Friday, April 18 to be the busiest travel day of the weekend, predicting roughly 610,000 travelers with similar numbers on Monday predicting 590,000 travelers.

In light of all of the anticipated traffic, Turnpike officials said there will be increased police patrols throughout the weekend and are advising drivers to practice safe driving habits.

Before hitting the road, travelers who know the route they’re taking can calculate how much their tolls will be ahead of time using the PA Toll Calculator.

Officials are also reminding anyone who takes the Turnpike they will NEVER receive a text from them about unpaid tolls and those tolls can be paid directly on the PA Toll Pay app or on the E-ZPass website.

Live road conditions including closing and slowdowns can be viewed 24/7 online on the 511PA website.