GHENT, WV (WVNS) — The 13-day holiday travel period in West Virginia exceeded almost all predictions made, totaling more than one million transactions.

Officials with the West Virginia Parkways Authority report more than 1,375,777 transactions occurred during the 13-day holiday travel period from Thursday, December 21, 2023 through Tuesday, January 2, 2024. This was 45,777 more transactions than the pre-holiday estimate of 1.33 million transactions.

The estimate for each day was exceeded except for Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. The busiest travel day was Friday, December 22 with 145,870 transactions while the lightest travel day was Christmas Eve with 54,838 transactions. Additional travelers were anticipated by The Parkways Authority due to the possibility people were traveling for WVU’s Duke Mayo Bowl.

“Ultimately, we are very pleased with how our staff handled the large influx of traffic and we were very well prepared. Our estimates were right in line with historical information that was reviewed prior to going into the holiday break.”

Jeff Miller, Executive Director of the West Virginia Parkways Authority

Jeff Miller reminded WV residents that the E-Z Pass is the easiest and most affordable way to travel West Virginia’s Turnpike. For more information on how to obtain an E-Z Pass, visit The Parkways Authority’s website.