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Labor Day weekend is almost here and while you may be dreaming of beach chairs, lake houses or a few blissful days without Slack notifications, there’s one unavoidable truth: Getting out of town is going to be a nightmare.
The Port Authority is bracing for a record-breaking 6.6 million travelers between Thursday, August 28, and Tuesday, September 2—which means jammed tunnels, crawling bridges and airports that feel like human ant farms.
Let’s start with the skies (and, more specifically, the lines that snake through them). JFK, LaGuardia, Newark and Stewart airports are expecting 2.4 million passengers, a one-percent jump from last year’s all-time high. Thursday, Friday and Monday are forecasted to be the worst days, so if you’re flying, pack patience with your carry-on.
Ongoing $19 billion construction at JFK means detours, road closures and relocated Uber pickups—Terminals 4, 5 and 7 all have shuffled ride-share zones, so don’t just blindly follow your app. Pro tip: AirTrain fares are temporarily reduced to $4.25 through September 4, and parking lots will sell out unless you pre-book.
On the roads, it’s not much prettier. More than 4.2 million vehicles are expected to pass through Port Authority bridges and tunnels. Non-emergency repairs will pause to ease congestion, but “lighter traffic” is a relative term. Think molasses, not quicksand. If you’re one of the unlucky souls braving the Lincoln Tunnel on Friday afternoon, maybe download a podcast series instead of a single episode—you’re going to need it.
PATH riders, you’re not off the hook either. The Hoboken station will be completely closed from Thursday night through Tuesday morning for urgent repairs. Free shuttle buses and ferry alternatives will be running, but if Hoboken is your usual gateway, build in serious buffer time. PATH will also run on a modified Saturday schedule for Labor Day Monday, so double-check before you swipe.
The bottom line is that this is shaping up to be a weekend of travel headaches. Your best bet is to take public transit wherever possible, leave earlier than feels sane and steel yourself for some quality bonding time with strangers in security lines or traffic jams. On the bright side, at least you’ll have something to complain about when you get back to the office.