A chance of rain this weekend likely won't deter too many Arkansans from enjoying the three-day Labor Day holiday weekend that traditionally marks the close of summer.
Arkansans will be among the 34.7 million Americans who AAA Travel says will journey 50 miles or more from their homes during the Labor Day weekend. The North American travel and leisure organization says it is the highest volume for the weekend since 2008 and a slight increase over 2013.
The weekend is the least-busy of the five major travel holidays of the year, according to AAA figures. Last Christmas for instance, the organization projected that 94.5 million people would travel over the year-end holiday.
Most of the people -- about 29.7 million -- who will be traveling this weekend will be going by passenger vehicles, AAA said. About 2.65 million will travel by air.
At Self Creek Lodge and Marina on Lake Greeson in Pike County, Stacy Swanson was answering the phones with the same refrain: "No, I'm sorry, we are completely booked," she told callers.
The 14 cottages the resort operates were taken long ago, Swanson said between telephone calls. "There's a waiting list."
People flocking to Lake Greeson and other Arkansas lakes will encounter a likelihood of rain, especially Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
"Saturday does not look too good to be going to the lake," said Lance Pyle, a meteorologist in the agency's North Little Rock office. "That's going to be our best chance for rain -- a 50 percent chance for pretty much the entire state."
But chances for precipitation diminish into Saturday night and Sunday, he said.
"It shouldn't be a total washout," Pyle said.
At the state's largest airport, Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field, more than 11,000 people will be traveling by air during the weekend, beginning today and ending Monday, said Shane Carter, the spokesman for the airport.
Carter noted that only four of the airlines serving Clinton National -- Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Frontier -- reported their figures by Thursday, so the total is likely more. American Eagle and United didn't supply any passenger figures, he said.
The holiday comes as consumer confidence unexpectedly rose in August. So while economic growth remains slow, consumers feel more comfortable taking on debt, according to AAA Travel.
"This year, Americans are more optimistic about their financial situation," Marshall Doney, chief operating officer for AAA, said in a statement. "Consumer spending continues to outpace disposable income, indicating that Americans are comfortable using their credit cards to take one last summer vacation this year."
Jim Mishler, the general manager at Self Creek, also senses a better overall economic climate than a year ago.
"It looks like it's going to be busy all over the lake," he said Thursday. "The campgrounds are full, the hotels are full and we're full. Last year, wasn't [as] good."
Travelers also will benefit from lower gasoline prices when they hit the road.
The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.43, according to AAA. That is 9 cents better than a month ago and a dime lower than this time last year.
Arkansans will pay an average of $3.23 for the same gallon, 10 cents less than a month ago and 13 cents less than last Labor Day, AAA said.
But state officials warn that motorists in Arkansas may encounter other impediments to travel this weekend.
Twenty-six miles of interstate lanes will be closed over the weekend, according to the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.
Two sections totaling 9 miles will be closed on Interstate 40 between North Little Rock and West Memphis, which has been a source of frustration for motorists plying that route.
Indeed, on Thursday afternoon, the only traffic slowdown on Arkansas interstates was reported at Biscoe in Monroe County, where the westbound lanes will be closed for 5 miles this weekend, according to iDrive Arkansas, an online tool the state Highway and Transportation Department urges motorists to consult before beginning a trip.
Meanwhile, the Arkansas State Police says it will be "aggressively targeting their patrols in search of drunk drivers," part of a nationwide enforcement effort it says is designed to help save lives.
The Driver Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign will pair increased public awareness with high visibility law enforcement, which the state police said it hopes will result "in fewer drunk drivers getting behind the wheel of a vehicle endangering themselves and others," according to an agency news release.
Across the nation in 2012 there were 10,322 people killed in alcohol-related crashes, the agency said. Over the Labor Day weekend that same year, almost 40 percent of all traffic fatalities involved drunken driving, it said.
Arkansas had 552 traffic fatalities in 2012, according to the agency. Twenty-six percent, or 143 of those fatalities, involved a driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher.
"These grim facts should speak for themselves, but the message hasn't gotten everyone's attention yet," said Col. Stan Witt, the state police director. "That's why the Arkansas State Police and local law enforcement will be joining the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign and will arrest anyone caught driving drunk. There will be no tolerance, no excuses."
A section on 08/29/2014