THE best time to travel to avoid getting stuck in traffic this Easter holiday weekend has been revealed by an expert from the RAC.
Some 17 million motorists are expected to hit the roads across the UK over the bank holiday.
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It means long delays will clog many roads – with some motorways expected to see more than twice the normal amount of traffic.
Railways works including the closure of Euston station in London will force more drivers onto the road – and a single breakdown could bring thousands of cars to a standstill.
The expected delays are so bad that National Highways is pausing 1,400 miles of roadworks from Thursday onwards to ease traffic along.
RAC expert Rod Dennis has revealed the best time to hop in your motor and avoid traffic is early in the morning on Good Friday.
Meanwhile, the worst time to travel on Good Friday – April 7 – is between 10am and 4pm, with 2.65million drivers planning journeys.
On Saturday, April 8, when 2.32m cars will hit the road, avoid road journeys between 11am and 2pm.
Easter Sunday, April 9 is expected to be as busy as Good Friday, with the worst traffic predicted to come between 11am and 1pm.
Avoid travel between 10am and 5pm on Bank Holiday Monday, when 2.32million cars expected to clog the motorways.
Throughout the Easter weekend, the M5, A303 and M25 are set to have the worst delays, with the M6 also likely to be congested on Monday, April 10.
The RAC’s Mr Dennis said: “We’re expecting the customary jams across parts of the road network to make this Good Friday a bad Friday for drivers, especially those who are planning on covering longer distances.
“Traffic volumes could be even higher if the sun chooses to make a welcome appearance.
“The south and west of the UK are the areas to watch as they’re home to some vital roads responsible for carrying vast numbers of people to the holiday destinations of the West Country.
“Our advice to anyone heading that way is to get on the road as early as possible on Good Friday, or travel on a different day entirely.”
The Met Office has also warned heavy showers may slow journeys down.
Transport expert Bob Pishue added: “We expect a large jump in holiday driving with most congestion occurring on major roads around urban areas and popular destinations.
“Nationwide, we anticipate travel times during the holiday weekend to increase about 25 per cent compared to normal.
“Knowing when and where congestion will build can help drivers avoid the stress of sitting in traffic.”
It comes after families were stuck for 15 hours at the Port of Dover last weekend in a premonition of Easter holiday chaos.
Kids were left physically ill after being stuck on coaches as the port declared a critical incident.
Tory MP Tim Loughton said: “Last time I was going across the channel, we went through the British passport control in a matter of minutes.
“And then there was a big queue to get through the French passport control because only two booths out of I think 10 or 11 were actually open.
“It’s because there were not sufficient border force people there from the French equivalent checking those passports.”
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