Houston drivers could see extra delays ahead of Memorial Day weekend

The rebound of American travel as COVID-19 pandemic restrictions wind down means more people will be on the roads this Memorial Day weekend, according to AAA. The worst travel days and times may be ahead of the weekend though.

AAA Travel expects a significant rebound in the number of Americans planning to travel this Memorial Day holiday weekend. From May 27 through May 31, more than 37 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home, an increase of 60% from last year when only 23 million traveled, the lowest on record since AAA began recording in 2000.

INRIX, a location-based data company, predicts drivers will encounter long delays before the holiday weekend, particularly during the afternoons on Thursday, May 27 and Friday, May 28. Drivers in Houston could see three times the normal delays on the busiest corridors, AAA representatives said in a statement.

The company said the US-59/I-69 Southwest Freeway could be especially congested over the next few days between the 610 West Loop and I-10.

While air travel will be the busiest Friday morning, Thursday won't be far behind. We're told airlines will have almost as many planes in the air Thursday as they will on Friday. An estimated 2.5 million are expected to travel by air.

AAA Travel has noted significant recent increases in online traffic and bookings on AAA.com, particularly for hotels and car rentals, heading into the summer travel season.

AAA booking data reveal that domestic travel and road trips remain the biggest drivers of travel recovery in the near term. Orlando and Las Vegas are top Memorial Day destinations this year, both for AAA Travel bookings and TripTik road trip searches.

ABC News and AAA contributed to this report.