Labor Day weekend traffic jams are about to start. Here’s which roads to avoid and when

Dallas-Fort Worth will experience heavy traffic on area roads heading into this Labor Day weekend.
U.S. travel is expected to be up 9% over last year, according to AAA. The Texas Department of Transportation expects Fort Worth and Dallas areas to see heavy congestion Thursday evening and throughout Friday. Traffic on Interstate 35 will peak from 4–8 p.m. Thursday evening.
Drivers on I-35 in Dallas, Denton and Waco should expect delays between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday and again from 3–7 p.m., with moderate traffic in Dallas and Fort Worth Saturday evening.
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Interstate 45 in the Dallas area will see congestion from 4–7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, with moderate traffic Saturday evening. Traffic on Interstate 45 will peak in Arlington, Fort Worth and Dallas Thursday evening and again from 2–7 p.m. Friday, with light traffic Saturday through Monday, according to TxDOT.
Some local events like Texas Rangers games could draw crowds to Arlington Saturday and Sunday, and Six Flags will be open Saturday through Monday, but there are no events scheduled at AT&T Stadium.
“We don’t anticipate anything out of the ordinary traffic-wise,” Arlington Police Department spokesperson Tim Ciesco said.
SMU, Texas, Texas A&M and Baylor all host their opening home games of the college football season on Saturday, adding to the number of travelers on Texas highways.
It’s also the first weekend for high-school football, so Friday night game traffic can tend to back up onto highways, TxDOT Dallas spokesperson Tony Hartzel said.
“We’ve got a mixture of holiday travel, event travel and just a little bit of unpredictability because people do travel at different times on holiday weekends,” Hartzel said.
Rain is expected Friday and Sunday, so drivers should exercise caution on slick roads, Hartzel said.
Travelers can expect to pay slightly less in gas than last Labor Day weekend, with national averages down about 30 cents per gallon, according to AAA.