Here’s Where Holiday Traffic in Portland Will Be the Worst

While many people consider the holidays to be the most wonderful time of the year, it's most certainly not the case if you're driving.

Traffic can be incredibly frustrating, and you can expect it to be just about as bad as it gets with so many people hitting the road for Christmas.

So if you're planning on travelling through Portland next week, here are a few spots you'll want to avoid if at all possible. If your GPS tells you to go through these areas, you might want to seek an alternate route, as they'll likely be jam packed for much of next week.

Congress Street

Portland's unofficial Main St., Congress St. is almost always full of slow moving traffic. It's sure to be a nightmare most days next week. Specifically, the downtown portion...outer Congress isn't as bad. If possible, take Spring St. and Brackett St. to save yourself some time.

Commercial Street

Commercial St. is normally where you'll find all of the tourists in the summer. But even in the winter months, it can be pretty bad. You're almost always better of taking Fore, or even Spring.

Franklin Street

Franklin is the shortest in distance connection to the Old Port from I-295, so everyone is always on it. If you want to get to the Old Port from the highway, try taking exit 4 instead of exit 7.

Forest Ave.

This might be my least favorite street in Portland, because the traffic is almost always a nightmare. Unfortunately for many people who live up that way, they don't have many other options. If you have to take Forest Ave. to get somewhere, at least try to avoid peak rush hour times, when it's really bad.

I-295

This stretch of highway can get really clogged up at certain times. It's intended to be a shortcut through Portland, but if the traffic is really bad, you might be better off just staying on I-95 to get where you're going.

Wherever your travels take you this holiday season, be safe out there!