More people will hit the road this Memorial Day weekend as traveler discounts and lower gas prices will boost holiday roadway travel 2.7 percent from a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association.

"Travel prices are so low right now," said Beth Mosher, of the AAA Chicago Motor Club. "Consumers are finding a lot of bargains out there."

The nationwide average for a gallon of regular gasoline now is $1.45 lower than last year at this time, and hotels, amusement parks and other tourist venues are offering discounts to bring travelers in, she said.

Even with all the travel perks, stimulus projects funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act in addition to the usual summer roadway construction will lead to plenty of lane-switching and detours.

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced 250 "shovel-ready" projects to be funded with stimulus funds earlier this year, and Indiana has let bids for 98. Many of those projects already are under way.

One of the Illinois projects is the $27.5 million rehabilitation of a nine-mile stretch of the Bishop Ford Expressway from Martin Luther King Drive to 159th Street.

That project will go full bore through the weekend despite IDOT's general holiday-weekend suspension of lane closures for projects around the state, according to IDOT spokeswoman Marisa Kollias.

Motorists still can expect portions of the nine-mile stretch to be restricted to one lane at night and two lanes during the day. There also are intermittent ramp closures.

Indiana will adhere to its holiday-weekend moratorium on temporary lane restrictions on all projects, according to INDOT spokesman Joshua Bingham.

"This is when the most people ride the roadways, and the reason we are out there in the first place is to provide a reliable means of transportation - especially on the holidays when people travel," Bingham said.

The temporary night lane reductions on the Borman Expressway near the Interstate 65 interchange will be suspended, Bingham said. Construction trucks and equipment also will not be allowed to work directly on the roadway during that time.

However, permanent lane restrictions, such as the "no-trucks" eastbound express lane in that area, will remain in place. Five ramps also remain closed along the Borman from Broadway to Central Avenue, while others will be open.

Even the bad news on lane restrictions, detours and delays can be seen as good news, Mosher said.

"It's good to see work happening again," she said. "It may slow you down, but it's jobs out there."

AAA forecasts overall travel will be up 1.5 percent this holiday weekend as compared to last year, with 2.1 million people traveling by air and another 3.3 million traveling by rail, bus or boat.

Altogether, 32.4 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home this weekend, which compares to 31.9 million last year. That remains far below the 35.3 million travelers who vacationed on Memorial Day weekend in 2007.