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Drivers have been warned to expect long queues as millions take to the roads ahead of the Christmas weekend.
The AA said Friday will be the busiest day on the roads this week with an estimated 16.9 million journeys across the UK.
Another 16.6 million are expected on Christmas Eve.
Congestion will be exacerbated by a strike by thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail, causing train services to end around 3pm on Saturday.
Air travelers have also been warned to be prepared for delays as Border Force personnel are also set to go on strike on Friday.
According to the RAC, roads will be busiest between 10am and 7pm on Friday, the last working day before Christmas.
roads Congestion worst affected include the M25, the M60 near Manchester, the M6 in North West England and the M40 in Oxfordshire.
Transport analytics company Inrix expects travel times to be about 14% longer than the same period last year.
National Highways said around 98% of England’s motorways and major A-roads will remain fully open until the end of January 2 as it completes and lifts roadworks.
Jack Cousens, AA head of road policy, said: “We advise people going out in their cars to be prepared for some congestion, particularly on popular routes out of London.
“Rail strikes have convinced more people to travel by car this year, and while hundreds of miles of roadwork have been removed to ease the pain, it hasn’t been enough to keep the queues at bay.”
RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said there would be “a couple of gloomy days of travel before Christmas”.
Inrix transportation analyst Bob Pishu said: “With pre-pandemic levels of travelers this holiday, drivers should be prepared for delays – especially in and around major cities.”
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