Gas prices lowest in a decade for Labor Day travelers

John and Sherry Britton, from Marietta, Ga., look off of the bluff at Lover's Leap at Rock City on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015, in Lookout Mountain, Ga.
John and Sherry Britton, from Marietta, Ga., look off of the bluff at Lover's Leap at Rock City on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015, in Lookout Mountain, Ga.

On the road again

› An estimated 35.5 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Labor Day holiday weekend, up 1 percent from last year.› 604,260 Tennesseans will travel by car this Labor Day holiday, up 0.6 percent from last year.› Average price of regular gas Thursday in Chattanooga: $1.97› Average price of regular gas a year ago: $3.15Source: AAA

U.S. gasoline prices are the lowest they've been since 2004. And regular gas averaged $1.97 a gallon Thursday in Chattanooga, $1.18 less than it was a year ago, according to AAA.

But cheap gas wasn't what inspired Johnny and Tammy Mitchell to make a spur-of-the-moment trip to Rock City from their home in Columbia, Tenn., about two hours away.

"Not on our anniversary," Tammy Mitchell said.

"It don't mean nothing," Johnny Mitchell said. "We drive a Hummer, too, so we don't care. To me, you gotta worry about that - stay home."

AAA Travel predicts 35.5 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Labor Day holiday weekend, the highest holiday travel volume since 2008. That's a 1 percent increase from last year's numbers.

The low price of gas did factor into Corey Brown's plans to leave Chattanooga and return to his hometown of Nashville today with his 10-year-old daughter, Alexis, to visit friends and family.

"It's pretty reasonable," said Brown, who gets Fridays off. He works four 10-hour shifts at the ThyssenKrupp plant in Chattanooga making front and rear axles for Volkswagen Passats built at the VW assembly plant next door.

Officials differ, too, on whether the cost of gas is a factor in travel plans.

"Fuel prices really don't have an effect on tourism - actually, they don't," said Bob Doak, the president and CEO of the Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Doak said that, with a car that gets 20 miles to the gallon, the $1.18 in savings that Chattanoogans get at the pump compared to last Labor Day would add up to less than $15 on a round trip to Atlanta.

"Fuel prices are not going to take away a summer vacation from a family," he said.

But Stephanie Milani, spokeswoman for AAA Tennessee, says that when gas dips below $2 a gallon, people are inspired to travel on Labor Day weekend.

"It definitely does, if you were on the fence," Milani said. "Psychologically, people really respond to that."

AAA Auto Club South predicts that 604,260 Tennesseans will travel by car over the holiday, a 0.6 percent increase in travel from last year.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation announced it will halt all lane closure activity on interstates and state highways starting at noon today through 6 a.m. Tuesday. Georgia will suspend lane closures from noon today until 5 a.m. Tuesday.

The Labor Day holiday coincides with the 2015 national impaired-driving law enforcement crackdown "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" that's led by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It targets drunken drivers through such means as stepped-up enforcement and DUI checkpoints around the country from Aug. 19 to Sept. 7.

Doak expects visitors to flock this holiday weekend to the Chattanooga area.

"Labor Day is a great time for tourism in Hamilton County," he said. "Rock City, Ruby Falls, the Incline [Railway], all the downtown attractions. There will be a sea of people here."

Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com, www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness, twitter.com/meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.

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