CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Thanksgiving holiday traffic on the West Virginia Turnpike was the highest in the past six years, but still not up to pre-recession levels, Parkways Authority General Manager Greg Barr said Monday.
For the six-day period from Tuesday through Sunday, the Turnpike processed nearly 763,000 toll transactions — a better-than-expected 5.7 percent increase from Thanksgiving 2014, he said.
“That’s pretty darn good,” he said. “Based on AAA predictions and lower gas prices, we thought 3 to 4 percent (increase) seemed reasonable.”
Just two years ago, Thanksgiving week traffic barely topped 660,000 transactions as predictions of a major winter storm in the region put a damper on travel plans. The storm never materialized, but the threat contributed to the lowest Thanksgiving holiday traffic on the Turnpike in years.
This year, unusually warm and mostly dry weather may have encouraged holiday travel, Barr said.
“The 763,000 was the best we’ve had for several years,” said Barr, who said traffic is still below levels prior to the recession of 2007-2009…
