Aug 29, 2025 By Paul Paterra 4 min read

Labor Day weekend is considered the unofficial end of summer, and it appears many are going to use the long weekend to do some traveling to send off the season.

“We’re seeing people are taking advantage of that Monday off, extending their weekends and getting a last-minute summer trip in,” said Jim Garrity, director of public affairs for AAA. “When you get weekends like this, a lot of people say it’s one less day I have to take off work, so they extend their weekends. We may see something similar to what we’ve seen the last couple of holidays, a lot of congestion Thursday and Friday heading out and maybe Monday and Tuesday coming back.”

Recent holiday travel numbers have broken records.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike projects 2.85 million motorists this weekend, a slight increase from 2024. Friday is projected to be the busiest day, with an anticipated 710,000 drivers expected to use the highway.

“There’s excitement,” Garrity said. “Some of the holidays we saw this year were record-breaking from our perspective at AAA. For anyone who is thinking about going on a domestic trip right now, you might be able to find a pretty decent deal with rental cars, hotels, plane tickets and gasoline all being down compared to this time last year.”

The Labor Day gas price forecast from GasBuddy, a gas station finder app, predicts that average gas prices for the weekend will be $3.15,14 cents lower than in 2024, and the lowest price at the pump since 2020. GasBuddy is calling for the national gas price to dip below $3 in the fall.

According to AAA, the average gas price in Pennsylvania as of Tuesday was $3.286 for regular gas, much lower than last year at this time, when the price was $3.523.

“That’s a nice added benefit for anyone who’s road-tripping,” Garrity said.

The Pittsburgh area weather forecast for the weekend is also favorable for traveling.

Jason Frazier, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said there is a chance of some rain over the Laurel Highlands Friday, but for the most part it will be a precipitation-free weekend with a less than 10% chance of rain. Friday and Saturday’s highs are not expected to be above the low 70s. The temperature will increase to the high 70s on Sunday and a high of 80 expected on Labor Day.

“I think a lot of people, if they could draw up what a Labor Day weekend should look like, that would be pretty close to what they would draw up,” Frazier said.

Garrity also reminded travelers to not drink and drive.

“We definitely want everyone out there to be practicing designated driving or getting home safely in one way or another,” he said. “Have that planned before you go out.”

The Pennsylvania Turnpike will have extra patrols during the holiday period. Additionally, a new law that went into effect last November bans devices that flip vehicle license plates to bypass tolls, engage in reckless driving and facilitate more serious crimes without detection. Drivers caught with these devices commit a summary offense and upon conviction will face as much as a $2,000 fine.

Pennsylvania State Police and local police departments will be conducting impaired driving enforcement details as part of the National Crackdown on Impaired Driving Enforcement and Education Campaign running through Monday.

This effort is funded through the state Department of Transportation’s annual distribution of more than $6.2 million from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for impaired driving enforcement.

During the 2024 Labor Day weekend, there were 1,002 crashes statewide, resulting in 13 fatalities and 722 injuries. Of those, 106 were alcohol-related, resulting in four fatalities and 65 injuries; and 27 were drug-related, resulting in three fatalities and 22 injuries.

“These numbers should be zero,” said Mike Carroll, PennDOT secretary. “Crashes involving impaired drivers are completely preventable. If your celebration includes alcohol or drugs, make a plan to get home safely without getting behind the wheel impaired. Never choose to drive impaired.”