Get ready to share the road with 1.52 million Ohioans this Memorial Day weekend if you plan to drive to your holiday destination, according to AAA.
That’s the number of Ohioans the association expects to travel more than 50 miles by car. If you’re traveling by air, you’ll be sharing the skies with over 90,000 Ohioans. That is 2% fewer Ohio air travelers than Memorial Day 2025.
For the drivers, Ohio’s average gas price is up $1.76 to $4.76 since the same time last year, according to AAA.
The Ohio Department of Transportation has some travel advice of its own for central Ohioans. The worst Memorial Day weekend travel in Columbus will occur on Tuesday, May 26 from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., according to ODOT’s travel forecasts. There will also be moderate traffic in Columbus on Friday, May 22, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., light traffic on Saturday, May 23, and no traffic issues expected on Sunday, May 24 and Monday, May 25.
ODOT will be reducing the size and scope of its work zones for the holiday, too, according to an Ohio Department of Public Safety press release.
On the safety side of things, 13 fatal crashes killed 14 people during Memorial Day weekend 2025, according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Nine of the crashes and 10 of the deaths involved alcohol or drugs.
Here are some construction projects to look out for as you celebrate this weekend.
Franklin County ODOT projects for the week of May 22, 2026
Reporter Nathan Hart can be reached at NHart@dispatch.com, @NathanRHart on X and nathanhart.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Get ready for Memorial Day travel, traffic | Getting There
Reporting by Nathan Hart, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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