CCB MEDIA PHOTO
The Wianno Club’s Independence Day Parade includes revelers of all ages dressed in patriotic garb.
OSTERVILLE – Cape Cod was prepared for the yearly crush of July 4th visitors Friday, as retailers and motel owners hoped to hear their cash registers ringing throughout the weekend.
There were six-mile backups on the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges Thursday night as thousands of people made an early escape to the Cape.
The traffic was also heavy early Friday morning on both Route 3 heading to the Sagamore Bridge and Route 25 heading onto the Bourne Bridge.
The CapeFlyer train service, which runs seasonally from Boston to Hyannis, added an additional day of service this week to accommodate the expected influx of visitors to Cape Cod.
Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Office Wendy Northcross said the July Fourth holiday is critical to the local business community.
“Some of our businesses will live all year long on the money they make during July and August, so it’s really, really important to us that we have a good visitor season,” said Northcross.
The Cape’s environment is historically a strong draw for tourists. “We have over 500 miles of coastline, beautiful villages, and for the Fourth of July that means terrific community parades and activities and lots of fireworks,” Northcross said.
The Cape’s first Independence Day celebration of the holiday weekend took place Friday morning in Osterville with a parade from the Wianno Club that featured kids dressed in red, white and blue and several classic cars.
Other parades were scheduled for Saturday in Barnstable, Chatham, Wellfleet, Orleans, Falmouth, Provincetown, Chatham and Edgartown.
Fireworks shows were expected to light up the sky on July 4 in Hyannis, Falmouth, Provincetown, Onset and Nantucket.
Nationwide, the American Automobile Association said 41.9 million Americans would travel 50 miles or more from home this weekend, the most since 2007.
“This Independence Day, more people will get in their cars, board airplanes, and take trains and cruise ships to celebrate our nation’s freedom with friends and family,” said Lloyd P. Albert, AAA Northeast Senior Vice President of Public and Government Affairs.
Of the 41.9 million projected to travel, more than 2.1 million are expected to come from New England.
