Locals begin to feel effects of Memorial Day weekend on the roadways

Memorial Day weekend has arrived, and you can tell just by the weather, or the traffic on local roadways.  Locals we spoke with say they already see a difference since last week.

Salisbury resident Nate Canada estimated about ten times as many cars on the roadways compared to last week.

"This weekend traffic gets pretty hectic, we try to get down here, it's usually 45 minutes, but it can turn into an hour-fifteen easily," said Thomas Phillips, of Salisbury.

Stephen Oscar, also of Salisbury, said he had seen some bumper-to-bumper traffic, and had some close calls on the roads already.

With over 200,000 visitors expected in Ocean City this weekend, major local roadways like the Salisbury Bypass and Route 50 East are seeing a major uptick in traffic.

"They just finished a section of repair (on the bypass) and they just moved the cones off, so everyone was flying past thinking, 'oh this is great, we've got all this room now.'  And then it's backed up even further now because the cones are moved down.  So everyone's going down to Ocean City, or even down to Virginia, camping for the weekend," said Salisbury resident Caleb Byerly.

We asked locals what roads they hope to avoid.  Some of the most popular answers were Route 50 and the bypass.  And if you are going into Ocean City, you may want to think about going uptown to avoid backups.

"We're going down 90, so hopefully we're going somewhere less populated, but if you're going to the boardwalk and all that, have fun trying to get out there," said Phillips.

Caleb Byerly has lived in the area for two decades, so he knows a thing or two about where to go and what to stay clear of.

He says while many will be going to O.C. for some fun in the sun, he has some other hidden gems he'll be enjoying for the holiday weekend.

"There's a little spot down in Berlin if you can get to that, the Island Creamery, that's absolutely delicious.  Rita's across town is always great, and of course you have the coffee at Rise Up that's fantastic."

Triple-A says we are expected to see heavier traffic this year, with an estimated 5-percent increase in Marylanders traveling this weekend compared to Memorial Day weekend 2017.