Rain isn’t in the forecast for this Labor Day weekend, but Michigan’s highways will be flooded with travelers.

This year’s holiday activity is expected to eclipse last year’s record numbers despite a slower summer travel season in Michigan, said Don Holecek, director of MSU’s Travel Tourism and Recreation Resource Center.

“I can’t believe the numbers we are looking at for Labor Day weekend,” he said. “The results are that about twice as many people are planing on making a trip this year as last.”

Delila Owens said she will be fighting the holiday traffic to join friends and family in Flint for a barbecue.

“It is lots of fun and worth the hustle and bustle of traffic and extremely high gas prices to just laugh and get away and not have to think about research and studying,” the College of Education graduate student said.

But Owens said she is altering her plans to avoid the expected traffic jams.

“I take (Interstate) 69, it is always a mess, especially on Saturday,” she said. “So I am going to try to leave Friday and see if it helps any.”

Owens won’t be alone on the roads, AAA Michigan expects about 1.7 million Michigan residents to be traveling this weekend.

Diane Thomas, service manager of AAA in Lansing, 2829 E. Grand River Ave., said many customers have been seeking tour books and brochures of Michigan destinations.

“Being a three-day weekend, the majority of the people coming in are looking for Northern Michigan,” she said.

Traverse City and Mackinac Island are among the state’s top destinations, Thomas said.

Thomas said she can see why so many people want to take a trip.

“Most people want to get away from the city and relax,” Thomas said. “Especially with the school year starting, this is your last weekend to get away from it all.”

In anticipation of a busy travel weekend, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Transportation Ari Adler said MDOT will suspend about 75 percent of its construction projects for the holiday weekend.

“We know there is a huge impact on the roads this weekend,” he said. “We just want to get out of the way while people are traveling on vacation.”

Adler said motorists still need to follow lane restrictions and reduced speed limits in construction zones, even if workers are not present.

“We do our part to make sure everyone has a happy holiday and gets home safe,” he said.

Researchers at the tourism center said the coming weekend will not be typical of the summer.

Holecek said a slowing economy and high gas prices have caused tourists to cut costs.

“More outlying regions like the places in the U.P. are not doing as well as places down state,” Holecek said. “People are looking to save money.”

Holecek said students traveling should plan for their trips to take longer, expect gas to be more expensive and be sure to confirm lodging plans.

“If you are planning to stay overnight, call ahead and make sure space is available, because there may not be,” he said.