Lots of Californians Expected on the Roads, In the Skies This Weekend

People who travel this Memorial Day weekend will have plenty of company.

The California State Automobile Association estimates 4.2 million Californians will travel more than 50 miles this holiday weekend.

That is a 0.2 percent increase over last year.

Of those Californians who travel, 3.5 million are expected to drive. That's 0.4 percent less than a year ago.

Another 460,000 will fly. That is 11 percent higher than last year. That's despite the fact air fares nationwide are 14 percent higher than a year ago.

Almost 200,000 will travel by rail, bus, watercraft or other modes. That's a 12 percent decrease from last year.

Oakland Airport expects 160,000 passengers from Thursday through Tuesday. That's a 1 percent increase from last year.

Rosemary Barnes, an airport spokeswoman, said flights to Hawaii have been filling up particularly quickly for the holiday weekend.

Barnes added there is plenty of parking at the airport. She added there is more information as well as discount parking coupons on the airport's website.

For those driving in the Yosemite area, Caltrans officials say crews have removed the packed winter snow, cleared the debris and made the necessary repairs to
open State Route 4 over Ebbetts Pass as well as State Route 108 over Sonora Pass.

The average hotel rate at Three Diamond lodgings, according to CSAA, is $148 per night.

Gas prices are also higher than a year ago.  Currently, the average cost for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $4.08. That's 10 cents less than it was a week ago, but a dollar higher than it was on Memorial Day 2010.