Here are the worst times for traffic on the busiest travel day of the year

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- According to AAA, almost 4.5 million Southern Californians are expected to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Gas prices across California are skyrocketing, with the average price of a gallon of regular gas in L.A. at $4.70: within a tenth of a cent of the record high.



This isn't good news for anyone planning to hit the road this week, but if you're heading out, experts say the best thing to do is to prepare.
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Here's what you need to know:

It's common in California to see a difference between gas stations of as much as a dollar, so make sure you keep your eye on those prices and do your research ahead of time.

Drivers can expect Wednesday to be the busiest travel day in terms of traffic, so you should try to leave Monday or Tuesday, if possible.

All outbound traffic will be busy, but the southbound 5 Freeway will likely be worse between Colorado St. to Florence Ave.

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The worst time for traffic on that day before Thanksgiving is between 3:15 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.

Planning your return trip? Sunday will be the busiest.

When could SoCal see gas prices go down? Here's what one expert says