Thanksgiving, Black Friday Traffic 2012: Top 10 Most Congested Cities, Hours & Routes (PHOTOS)

There are always things to be thankful for during the holiday season, but traffic is never one of them. The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest travel days of the year, which means traffic on the road and in the sky.

Luckily, INRIX, a company devoted to traffic information, has some tips to get you through the gridlock.

BEFORE THANKSGIVING:
Get onto the road before 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Traffic will be light Wednesday morning and even lighter Thursday morning. If you have to leave after 2 p.m. Wednesday, expect your trip to be 26 percent longer than normal. For particularly congested routes in your city, click here.

AFTER THANKSGIVING:
In addition to folks heading back to their homes, Black Friday sale shoppers will fill the roads Friday, particularly in urban downtown and suburban shopping areas. Your best bet is to avoid the traffic peak times: between 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. as well as the 5 – 7 p.m. dinner hours on Black Friday. For the peak traffic time in your city, click here.

And unfortunately, not all traffic is created equal. INRIX predicts that certain cities will be particularly congested this Thanksgiving. See if your city is on the list of 10 cities predicted to have the longest delays. And good luck.

All photos courtesy of Alamy.