CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Lower gas prices and good weather proved to be the right combination for higher-than-expected Memorial Day weekend traffic on the West Virginia Turnpike, Parkways Authority general manager Greg Barr said Tuesday.
Toll transactions for the five-day travel period topped 589,000, up more than 5 percent from the holiday weekend in 2014, he said.
“It’s a little better than what AAA had predicted. They were saying traffic would be up 4 percent nationally,” he said.
The national travel association had projected a 4.7 percent increase in traffic for the Memorial Day weekend, with 37.2 million Americans expected to travel more than 50 miles during the holiday.
Barr said lower gas prices, down 90 cents to $1 a gallon from the 2014 holiday weekend, undoubtedly help spur travel during the long holiday weekend.
“Last year, you figure every 20 miles or so, that’s another $1 down the tubes…