Gas Prices near Chattanooga Record

     Gas prices have climbed to within a nickel of Chattanooga's record average set September 5th of 2005.    Triple A reports the average for a gallon of regular at nearly $3.03 today.     That's up over a penny from yesterday, 27 cents from a month ago and 35 cents from this time last year.    The national average soared to $3.20 a gallon. Triple A predicts frustratingly high gas prices will climb even more this week...just in time for Memorial Day Travel. It reports prices are higher in Chattanooga than the metropolitan areas in Tennessee it monitors, except Clarksville and Nashville. If the trend follows past years, there might be some relief in sight. “I think that we'll see a slight difference after Memorial Day weekend but at the present time the gas prices will continue to go up,” says Pat Bridges the Triple A South Division Manager. But Triple A doesn't expect Americans to skip that Memorial Day trip. “ I think what they're doing they're being more conservative. In other words, if they have a V-8 SUV then they're going to rent a smaller car to do their trip consequently saving more money,” says Bridges. People might also save on lodging or eat out less while on vacation.
Click here for the Triple A website where you can see average gas prices and calculate your vacation gas cost.