(The following story by John Valenti appeared on the Newsday website on November 21.)
NEW YORK — It’s the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. That means this is the day more commonly referred to as “The Mother of All Travel Days,” considered the biggest travel day of the year.
And the worst.
The scenario Wednesday morning is proving that true.
Already, the Long Island Rail Road is announcing that service was suspended on the main line through Queens Village for almost one hour due to a disabled westbound train out of Hempstead before being restored shortly after 7 a.m. That service suspension affected the Hempstead, Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma and Oyster Bay branches, causing limited westbound service west of Jamaica Station. Now railroad officials are saying that even though the situation has been remedied commuters can expect residual 45-to-60 minute delays throughout the morning rush hour.
The news comes at the start of not only the worst travel day — but one of the toughest travel weekends — of the year. More than 31 million travelers are expected to drive to holiday get-togethers this weekend. And the Federal Aviation Administration is reporting that there are almost 3,500 takeoffs and landings scheduled for Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark-Liberty on Wednesday.
Though the FAA has no reported delays at those major metro-area airports so far, overcast skies and the threat of rain could soon take its toll.
There are no reported accidents or incidents on any of the major state roads — the Long Island Expressway, the Northern State Parkway, the Southern State Parkway — on Wednesday morning. But traffic is heavy leaving town Wednesday, with delays reported at the George Washington Bridge and an accident that earlier delayed westbound traffic at the Outerbridge Crossing in Staten Island.